For Those That Thrive
by xDemanufactureX
Summary: In the City of Haven, everyone has their fair share of suffering. Some suffer for nothing and others for a past they can not shake; but in the end, it's not just a matter of survival-It's learning to thrive in it all. Ch.5 Can you handle it?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jak and Daxter or related characters, or the world of Jak and Daxter. I am though, using it for entertainment purposes. I do, however own my original characters both described here and it later chapters**

**Enjoy.**

**XxX**

Chapter 1- The Corruption.

A day; the most simplistic of ways it could be described for it was not bright, nor extravagant. In-fact, it was dark, smog filled and a dampness hung in the air, weighing it all down. The smell of pollution was heavy in every corner of the reflective city. Everything industrial; paved streets and courtyards, scrap metal heaps for buildings, unnerving and insanity inducing lighting and not a smidgen of greenery in sight unless you were somehow ambitious enough to travel to the relatively small agricultural section. Haven City was its name. Ironic really for it certainly was no haven, except in the eyes of one individual. The man who sat on his royal ass all day, looking down upon the peasants below his palace like a little boy looks down upon an ant farm. Pathetic, really. All of this, and more running through the mind of a figure sitting atop a building in the water slums; an area of rickety and creaking boards for walkways and homes held up by sticks over a large flooded area. It was a true piece of junk in the armpit of the city.

The figure stood and shook his head, 'tsking' almost mockingly. A moist breeze blew by, picking up the man's long, green trench coat and flicking it lightly behind him. He tapped his large, brown, steel-toed boot slightly impatiently on the tin roof he stood upon before shoving his brown, gauntlet clad hands into the pockets of his coat and stepping off the edge of the building. He landed nonchalantly on the boards below.

"Enough of this…" He spoke to himself, "Pondering is always depressing." His stomach gave a growl, "And I'm hungry… hmm, let's see if I can score a little something in the Bazaar."

He turned on his heel to the direction back to the concrete jungle and began a brisk walk, a creak in the boards with each step he took in his heavy boots. It was rhythmic to him and so he began to whistle a tune as he went. He tried not to let anything bother him in this state. He was most often successful; it came with much practice. He passed a few Krimzon guards beating a young man trying to defend his child. The man in the green trench coat had taken note over the past little while, the guards had been 'confiscating' children for some strange reason. While he felt some remorse for not helping the man, he knew he had to lay low, in Haven, it was often every man for himself. He kept his pace and his tune and did nothing but move on. Nothing was surprising anymore. Things used to be surprising though, almost terrifyingly so. He had the scars to prove it, among other things. He looked down at his right arm and lifted his sleeve to reveal the brassy, metallic bracelet welded to his arm. From it strung blue markings in codes he couldn't decipher stringing their way up to his shoulder. The markings on the artifact now a part of him, still glowing that blue light, just as it did on that day.

XXxFlashbackxXx

Two years ago:

There he was no more than twenty years of age, strolling the streets of Haven City. It wasn't as terrible as it was now but it wasn't much better either. He was content, feeling as foolish then as he was now, out for the fun of it all and that's all that it should have been. He was also a collector; a collector of artifacts; things he shouldn't have and he knew then that if he were caught with even one of the pieces he claimed ownership to, the Baron would have him slaughtered, burned and his ashes buried at opposite ends of the earth. But that was all part of the excitement, he also just found it amusing how he had this odd knack for seeking them out.

It wasn't much longer into his stroll that something caught his eyes, glinting ever so lightly under the waters in the southern port. He raised his eyebrow and stepped over, closer to the edge of the waters to further inspect the object. He crouched and squinted, leaning in ever so slightly and he soon noticed that it not only had a metallic sheen, it was glowing ever so slightly in a soft tone of blue. A sly smile spread across his face and his green eyes glinted with a little mischief. He stood up and took a few steps back, after looking around quickly and listening for any patrols in the area he stripped himself of his trench coat and gauntlets, setting them down beside the edge of the waters. He took one more final look around to make certain no one was there, and then, he dove straight in.

He didn't have to swim very far before he was able to grab it and dart back to the surface. He quickly threw his treasure up onto his rumpled coat and then pulled himself up. He shook his body, very similarly to how a dog would; needless to say, it did nothing for the fact his reddish-brown dreadlocks were going to be wet the rest of the night. Still, he smiled happily, a sense of accomplishment welling inside of him and pride for once again, finding something new. He bundled up his findings in his coat, threw his gauntlets back on and began a quick and careful pace back to his little coop in the industrial section.

His 'home' as he'd put it, was made up of a small, abandoned apartment in an alley in the industrial section. It was hidden from the public, and you really had to be looking for it to find it. He didn't have a job and therefore had no money, so this was perfect, no rent… also no food but everything has it's ups and downs. He entered his hideout and sat down comfortably on his dust covered, beat up sofa that he conveniently found in the old building. He unraveled his coat and pulled out the glowing artifact. It really was mesmeric, nothing like he'd ever found before. He held it up to his eyes.

"It looks like, an arm-band or a bracelet… or something of those lines. Wonder who might have worn it, or if it's ever been worn." He muttered as he inspected it, "I wonder if it actually does anything."

He found a small button and pressed it, the artifact opened up fully. He was rather excited by this as he now knew how it worked. He grinned and looked it over with a little curiosity and brought it to his wrist. It looked like it would fit.

"Well, let's give it a go." He chuckled.

He placed his wrist in the artifact and the closed it. It clicked into place and it fit snugly, but perfectly.

"Wow… This is, really kind of neat." He gasped slightly, "Wait… what's it doing?"

Suddenly, the markings on the artifact began to glow far more brightly. He had to shield his eyes as the light became more intense. He decided this was enough and attempted to find the button to remove it, but to his dismay, it had disappeared along with the hinges and the opening. He began to struggle, pulling at it and trying to yank it down over his hand, but it wouldn't budge.

"W-What's happening?" He shouted in panic. It was then, the metal against his skin began to burn, and he screamed.

It burned, horribly. So much so that he could smell the flesh as it melted and the metal bonded itself to him. He fell to the floor, writhing in agony, still screaming at the top of his lungs that he did not expect what was to come next. From the burning artifact sprung symbols in codes, flying up his arm and branding themselves into his flesh adding greatly to the pain he already felt. At this point, he stopped screaming. He was in shock, it was all so overwhelming and he just couldn't handle it.

"No more… make it- make it stop…" He managed to whimper just before his vision blurred and everything faded to black.

When he awoke, he had to run. Someone had reported the screaming from earlier and the Guard found him. All of the artifacts he'd ever found were taken, except for the one… the one bound to him against his will. They were still looking for him.

XXxEnd FlashbackxXx

The man walked on in a trance. His green eyes seemingly fixated on his feet as he walked, it wasn't until he bumped into a random citizen that he snapped out of it. He stopped momentarily and put a hand to his forehead. He sneered and let out a light growl as the citizen moved on without even offering an apology. He really hated it when he found himself deep in thought like this. If it were left up to him, he wouldn't think at all.

"God, Dammit…" He growled again, "Was I even watching where I was going?" He looked up and around himself, tired, frustrated and slow in his movements. He recognized the area as his destination.

"At least something good came out of it. I don't remember the long, boring walk." He mused with a slight smirk on his face, "Never is much to see in this crap-hole these days."

He walked on, his stomach rumbled and he remembered what it was he was here for. He walked up to one of the many fruit and vegetable stands in the section of the city and leaned nonchalantly against the side of one. He watched carefully, and stood still so as to not attract much attention, especially from the guard. The stand owner, a short, pudgy man with a moustache turned to help a customer and that's when he made his move. Silently and swiftly, he swiped two apples and one red bell pepper from the stand, hid them in his coat and walked on. It was always this easy, no one ever noticed and he doubted anyone cared. Once he was far enough away from the stand, he pulled out the red bell pepper and bit into it. It was like heaven. He never did understand how such a hole of a city could have such sweet fruits and vegetables. It may very well have been the only highlight of the city. He chuckled at the thought and took another bite as he searched for a place to sit.

He moved at his same old pace as always through the many corners of the Bazaar until he found a single stand. It was a small wooden stand with only a few stools for seating and a simple and tacky neon sign above it. He grinned, his lips beginning to turn a red colour from the pepper he was still munching on. He approached it slowly and quietly as if he was sneaking up on someone. He smoothly swiveled his body around the wooden stool and lowered himself to sit, the stool creaked slightly and he flinched and froze.

"What? Who's there?" A deep and slightly clumsy sounding voice called from just below the counter.

The being whose voice had sounded popped up from whatever he was doing below the counter. All that was seen first was the back of a massive reddish-purple head, then he turned and one could see large eyes and a pair of glasses set on the tip of his nose. The lurker smiled broadly at the sight of the man sitting before him and he gasped loudly.

"Johan!" He shouted happily, "Where have you been, I haven not seen you in weeks! Brutter missed you!"

"I've been around," Johan laughed taking another bite out of his pepper.

"Where did you find that. Oh, has Johan been stealing from the stands again? I told you, you come here! Brutter feed you."

"Now, now, Brutter, you know my feelings on that matter. You need to conserve as much money as you can for your cause. You can't be feeding low lives like me. Besides that… where do you think I get any of my fun?"

"Brutter tells you that is not how he sees it. You befriend Brutter, you not judge lurker brothers by outside looks. You good man. You need not be getting cheap thrills from low life crime."

"That's not how I've been feeling lately, Brutter."

Brutter's normally joyous expression faded to that of concern for his yearlong friend. He raised one furry eyebrow before grabbing a pint glass and filling it with some strong brew and placed it in front of Johan. Johan looked at the pint and then back at Brutter's face and raised his own eyebrow.

"Can not put back into barrel. Better drink up now." Brutter grinned.

Johan relaxed his face and sighed before letting a small smile grow on his face. He carefully reached over and took the pint by the handle and took a quick drink from it.

"Thanks, Brutter…"

"Is not a problem. Does Johan wish to talk about problems?"  
"Nah, I don't want to bring you down too, my friend." Johan replied before taking another drink.

"Brutter will not push. But, he will say that if Johan wishes to talk, Brutter will listen."

"Thanks again." Johan smiled once more before downing the rest of the brew.

He was beginning to feel a little better, maybe it was the beer lifting his spirits by deluding his perception of the world, or maybe it was that fact that he was able to sit around, relax and talk to a good friend. Brutter really was a good guy; it really was such a shame that he was put through so much hell. He worked so hard to save his brethren from falling into the pain of slavery. If there was anything Johan actually had the motivation and the mind to do, it was to help him out in whatever small ways he could. He leaned back a moment and thought through what had just run through his head. Perhaps he wasn't as bad as he was beginning to think he was a little while ago. He smiled again, more broadly this time. He was only dragged out of his thoughts when he heard Brutter scramble, peaking his head up from under the counter only to whisper to him.

"Johan… run!" Was all that he whispered. Johan raised a brow and turned his head slightly only to see a large patrol of Krimzon guards heading his way being lead by their ruthless commander. Johan recognized those eyes amber eyes immediately. He turned away, narrowing his own green ones, complimenting the sneer of absolute hatred on his face.

"Stay back. I can handle it from here on. Stand by in case he makes a move." The commander instructed. "Oh Johan, don't pretend to be someone else. We know it's you; I know it's you."

Johan turned around on the stool and put his arms in the air in a mocking, welcoming manner, "Ah, Commander Errol. What a surprise! Might I say, it's not a pleasant one, nor am I happy to see you and I'm none too keen on welcoming you here."

The Commander snorted, "It's been quite long enough that you've evaded us, you egomaniacal prick!"

"Wow, somehow I feel as though I'm being scolded by my wife. And I've not been, nor am I currently married. And if I might add, it takes an egomaniacal prick to know an egomaniacal prick so…"

"I've not the patience for your childish games, freak."

"I'm not playing games commander, I mean every word of it."

Errol's face grew red with fury and he grabbed his gun from its holster. He held it coolly in front of himself, taking dead aim at Johan's head. A wide, vain grin spread across the commander's face as Johan's expression faded into seriousness.

"You're caught, Johan. You're going to come with us. My men here are armed to the teeth. If you so much as lift a finger, they'll pump you full of lead in an instant. Give up." The Commander chuckled smugly.

"Armed to the teeth, huh?" Johan stood up and took two steps forward and the guards raised and cocked their weapons.

"That's right. You're coming with us this time, blue eco freak." The commander growled.

"Oh, you said it." Johan suddenly smiled and pointed at Errol. The Commander's expression faded very quickly.

"Said what?!" The Commander demanded.

"The name…" Johan replied, grin still plastered to his face.

Johan took one more step forward and Errol fired but the bullet hit the wall. In an instant, Johan shot from his position to a new one behind the commander leaving only a blue streak in his wake. He quickly turned and roundhoused the baffled commander in the side of the head, effectively knocking him unconscious. It was then the mayhem began. The guards began their firing, trying in vain to even make a scratch on the eco freak. Johan dodged every shot they had, weaving his way through the guards and taking them out one by one.

"You would think they would have greater reinforcements for something as serious as they make this out to be." Johan mused as he dodged another shot and brought his foot down upon the head of the next guard. He finally made it through the mess of goons Errol had brought with pride evident in his face, that is until he saw the other reinforcements.

"Oh, shit…"

"Fire!" A Guard shouted.

A new rain of bullets fell from the sky itself. At least twenty KG cruisers and forty more guards were set up in the second section. Fire flew about around him and he was scrambling to dodge even with his blue eco abilities.

"What's wrong with them?" Johan spoke aloud to himself, "Don't they see there are citizens in this area? Didn't they at least try to clear the vicinity?"

It was then, in the midst of his dodging he saw it. Sprays of blood littering the ground and a child fall. The mother screamed and ran to her child, but it was useless, the child was dead… but the bullets kept falling. The Father grabbed the frantic mother and tried to drag her from the chaos…but the bullets kept firing! The child still lay there, his blood flowing out over the filthy ground… And the bullets just kept on fucking firing!

Johan stopped, dazed, confused and enraged. A Bullet flew by and grazed the side of his face, drawing blood, he snapped. His eyes narrowed, and those orbs quickly transformed from green to an intensely glowing blue. He leaped into the air at such a speed he was nearly invisible. When he touched the ground next, he landed feet first with a massive amount of force on top of the helmet of an unlucky guard. He crushed him, shattering every bone and flattening him to a mere bloody lump of flesh on the ground. The next guard he managed to wrap his hands around had his brains punched out through the back of his head. The blood sprayed out like a fountain, soaking the first line of guards and making them step back in a sudden fear.

"What kind of creatures are you?" Johan demanded as he stepped forward.

He raised his right arm, glaring intensely with those bright eyes. The energy levels in the vicinity began to skyrocket evident by the malfunctioning of the KG cruisers, which came crashing down, exploding on contact with the ground. The silence of rage overwhelmed him. He heard nothing, he felt nothing, he only saw; and he watched the remaining guards drop their weapons and begin to run, but not fast enough. He raised his hand higher, reaching for the very sky itself. Electricity crackled in the air, He shouted and plunged his right hand into the ground; great blue bolts of electricity followed. They struck the guards and vaporized them, they struck the ground and crystallized it, and the heat was enough to make most of the people in the Bazaar run for their dear lives. Johan released a great roar in his rage. This finalized his outburst and with that, it all ended, and he hit the ground.

When he finally opened his eyes, the dust was still settling and people were still screaming. He sat up and blinked a few times, placing a hand on his head to quell his ripping headache.

"God… what happened…" He asked himself aloud, scrunching up his face in pain. He blinked once more and caught a glimpse of something that made him jump. He opened his eyes fully and found them growing wider by the moment.

Blood decorated the walls and the floor of the bazaar. Some armor left over from the guards was scattered in pieces, and only two of the bloodied bodies remained, the ones he killed first. His mouth dropped open, he tried to suck in the air, but he'd forgotten how. He was choking on his own breath. He couldn't breathe, he just couldn't. Had he done this? How could he have done this? He'd had outbursts before, but this, this was slaughter. He was finally able to suck in a breath and turned to his side, supporting himself with his left hand. He panted, heavily.

"I swore. Kill only in necessity; in the event that your life, or the life of family is in danger." He whispered to himself, "Was I defending myself or…"

Suddenly, something caught him out of the corner of his eye, stopping his muttering. A small figure in the dust, lying in a pool of it's own blood. The child he was too late to save. He dragged himself over to the fallen figure and looked upon it. The small boy, no more than maybe five, lay still, eyes still wide open, as if in shock. Too young to realize what had happened to him, and what was happening around him; too unfortunate to have lived in such a rotten place. Johan placed his fingers and thumb over the child's face and closed his eyes.

"They can't hurt you anymore now." He whispered, "I know what I've done."

Johan stood up and brushed himself off. He looked up at the palace towering above him and wondered if the Baron was looking down at him at the same time. He gave it a fierce glare and then walked off. There was no rhythm to his step and no tune to follow him this time, only thoughts.

XxX

A/N: **Kind of a boring chapter. The Idea of it was to get you started on the introduction to one of the main characters here. That's right, one. There will be more! Anyhow, ignore the angst in the first chapter, which was to get it out of the way. For the most part, I want this to remain slightly humorous. Anyhow, critique is welcome and reviews are love.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Migraine

Torn stood idly over his small round table, he had his maps and notes spread out everywhere again. The dim light made it hard to make out some of the small and often important details, but this is why he made it his duty to be so thorough. He sighed and pushed his hand back through his dreadlocks. He was tired, he was always tired, and that's just the way it had to be. He shook his head, stood up straight and stretched. Perhaps it was time that he finally did take a break, but only a short one. He walked around the table, his tall body hunched over as he did so. In his mind, there were better things to worry about at the moment than good posture. He stopped and leaned against the front of his precious table and yawned. Damn, those cots looked mighty comfy right about now.

"Maybe it wouldn't be so terrible if I just took a short nap…" He spoke aloud to himself. It was then he heard it.

The annoying slightly high pitched and yappy voice that could only belong to the little orange rodent echoed just behind the door. Torn actually cursed himself for being able to recognize it so quickly and easily. He scrunched his face up in slight disgust before deciding it best to circle his way back to his 'favorite' spot.

"I spoke too damn soon." He muttered to himself, disappointedly, "At least I've got something that'll keep 'em busy for a bit."

The door to the Underground hideout opened with it's all familiar sound. Stone rolling over stone as it was, ending with a gentle click, followed by a muffled clank as it finished it's cycle. Torn stood up straight, as he always tried to in the presence of others and folded his arms across his chest rather sternly. He tapped his foot impatiently and waited for Jak and his annoying companion to fully enter the room. The blonde simply walked in nonchalantly, a slight swagger as always with the rat clinging to his shoulder before hopping onto the table. His filthy little paws skittering all over Torn's nice, clean, but rather haphazardly spread out, maps and notes. Needless to say, he was not amused.

"Hey, Hey! Happy to see us ol' tattooed wonder?" Daxter blurted out in that same obnoxious voice that always made Torn sneer with hatred, "Because, dare I say it; after that last mission you threw at us, I'm happy to see you. Only for the fact that it means I'm still alive and am most definitely not in heaven."

"I take it that the last run I had you two on was a little more than you'd expected." Torn gestured.

"Can't say we enjoyed it much." Jak replied.

"That's an understatement!" Daxter shouted, "That last metal-head you took down Jak, almost threw us off the jet board and into that four-story tree!"

"Heh, a bit much for the duo, was it?" Torn chuckled.

"N-…no" Daxter replied, turning away and crossing his arms.

"Just a little more than we'd anticipated, but the job's still done."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. Unfortunately, I have another run for you."

"Oh great! What now?" Daxter sat down on the table, arms still crossed.

"I need you to find someone." Torn replied.

"Wait, a rescue mission?" Jak asked, quirking a brow.

"Not even close." Torn laughed slightly, "I've gotten word from my informants that he's been kicking up some dust recently in the bazaar section of the city."

"Who has?" Jak asked, urging Torn to complete his story so he could get on with it.

"Apparently, not long ago, there was a mass slaughter of KG's in the area alongside some strange phenomenon," Torn turned to look at the many posters and cutouts on the wall behind him. "This man, we've been trying to get a hold of him for almost a year now, but no one could seem to track him down, nor catch him. Judging by the sudden outburst of activity, something got his goat at some point."

"Would you just get on with it? What do we need to do?" Daxter demanded.

"They call him, The Blue Eco freak. Word has it, he was touched by some artifact some time ago and gained some strange abilities. What I need you to do is find him and ask him if he'll contribute to our cause in some way, shape or form." Torn grinned.

"That's it? That's all we need to do?" Jak asked, eyebrow raised.

"This'll be a piece of cake!" Daxter nearly squealed.

"Heh, if you think so. By the way," Torn began before Jak could leave, "Take these with you."

Torn tossed a small, plastic bottle across the table. Jak grabbed it, held it to his eyes and examined it. Coming up blank, due to the blankness of the bottle, he frowned and turned to Torn.

"That the hell are these?" He asked.

"Painkillers, for headaches," Torn replied with a snicker, "From what I've heard from other informants, you are definitely, going to need them."

Jak just shook his head and turned to walk out the door. Daxter scrambled after him and quickly climbed his way up to the young man's shoulder. The door closed behind them with the insanity inducing, familiar sound. Torn snorted, rolled his eyes and walked around his table, leaning against the front of it with his arms crossed over his chest. He hoped they would be able to coax Johan out of his shell, but from his own past experiences, Torn was sure they probably stood no chance of doing so.

"Well…" Torn began, "At least now, I can sleep."

He walked on over to the bottom bunk of one of the cots and fell back onto it, sprawling himself out and closing his eyes. A contented sigh escaped him as he rolled onto his side and muttered some nonsense. It was then, the all too familiar and once again, rage inducing sound filled his ears once more. The door slid open, and a secondary annoying voice followed. Tess had just walked into the hideout, awaiting her next assignment and looking down at him on the cot, both baffled and stupefied; a common expression for the girl. Don't get him wrong, Torn thought Tess was a wonderful additive to the war effort, but just not right now.

"God-dammit!" He shouted as he buried his face in the small pillow on the cot.

XxX

Meanwhile, Jak and Daxter were quietly and carefully patrolling the bazaar section of the city. They searched carefully, combing each area as they went through, but nothing turned up. Again and again they came up empty handed. The fact that Torn hadn't given them a description of the man wasn't helping a whole lot either. It was all just a huge pain in the ass as far as the duo was concerned.

"Oh, I give up." The little orange ottsel cried out as he kicked a rock.

"Just a little more, he has to be around somewhere." Jak reassured his companion.

"I thought this would be easy. Find some nut job and recruit him. But no one here knows of, has seen or has heard from this 'Johan'!"

"Did someone say my name? I could have sworn I heard it." An unfamiliar voice called out, startling the two.

"Who said that?" Daxter shouted; a quick whistle answered him.

The duo circled about each other in search of where the voice had come from. It had them scrambling, they were frantic now. This could be the so-called 'nut job' they'd been looking for over the past few hours.

"Say something again so we can find you." Jak said aloud so whoever it was could hear.

"Man, are you guys ever slow…" The voice replied.

"What?" Jak whipped his head around, only to be tapped on the shoulder from behind. He whipped himself back around.

"Boo!" A man in a long, green trench coat shouted.

Jak's eyes went wide and he scrambled back quickly, a little too quickly. The blonde lost his balance and fell to the ground. He gasped for air slightly and sat there, the surprise still evident on his face. It took a moment for all of these events to finally settle into Daxter's brain, but once it did, he found all too hilarious.

"Haaa!" The ottsel laughed and pointed at his companion. Jak gave him a quick, but dangerous glare that he took no note of and continued to laugh.

"That was interesting." Johan quirked an eyebrow.

"Was that really necessary?" Jak asked, frustration evident in his voice.

Johan turned for a moment, stroking his goatee in thought before turning back to Jak with a great grin on his face, "Yes." He replied simply.

Jak lowered his gaze to a glare, "Look, we've been searching for you…"

"Evidently…" Johan nodded.

"Yeah, Torn sent us!" Daxter cut in after recovering from his hysterical laugh attack.

"Torn, eh?" Johan enquired.

"Yeah… He sent us to talk to you." Jak continued.

"Oh, I can just imagine." Johan began as he walked off a few paces, "Take this message back to him. I wasn't interested in joining the Underground movement a year ago, and I'm not interested as of now either."

"Whoa, Wait a second here!" Daxter shouted, running up to Johan, "You mean to tell us that we came out here, wasted our time in search of you only to find out it was for nothing?"

"Yes." Johan nodded before strolling off in the other direction.

" I'm not going to let you do that." Jak cut in.

Johan stopped in his tracks and glanced back at the teenager. Jak held a solid look of determination on his face, unflinching and obviously, not eager to make negotiations. It was all or nothing and as far as Johan could see, he wasn't used to leaving with nothing. He was too serious for his age, something seriously was not right, as far as Johan was concerned.

"You're going to stop me, then?" Johan asked, raising his eyebrow.

"You're damn right I am." Jak replied.

"What's your name, boy?" Johan asked, turning back around to face the teenager.

"The name's Jak."

"And!" The furry rodent cut in; "I'm Daxter."

"Ah…" Johan nodded, "And you… the two of you are going to stop me and somehow change my mind?

Both Jak and Daxter looked to each other before nodding and turning back to Johan and shrugging their shoulders. Johan could see they were determined, but not very good at analysis. He smirked ever so slightly; he could have a lot of fun with this.

"Right." Johan continued, "Well… You're going to have to catch me first."

"Wait, what?" Jak began, but before he could finish, Johan disappeared in a streak of blue, his last words echoed throughout the section of the city.

"Catch me if you can!"

The duo was completely baffled by what had just happened. Daxter's jaw dropped open and he looked to his companion to see if he had any idea as to what to do. Jak looked just as stupefied as he felt. This was a nasty predicament.

"What do we do now Jak?" Daxter asked as soon as he found his voice again.

"I think, we should see if we can follow him." Jak replied, the determination returning to his face.

"You saw how he took off like that. He's the Blue Eco Freak. He's all buzzed up with the zappy stuff!"

"Yeah, but…" Jak continued, "When he takes off like that… he leaves a faint streak of blue behind. If we're quick, we might be able to follow it before it fades."

Daxter looked off to the direction that Johan took off and caught a glimpse of the lingering blue. He grinned and nodded his head.

"What's life without a challenge or two, right?" Jak asked.

"You said it brother." Daxter hopped up onto Jak's shoulder.

The two quickly commandeered a zoomer and were on their way. Jak had Daxter grab the blaster just in case Johan tried anything funny. They had a hell of a time trying to keep a good eye on the blue streak. It was fading quickly and it had the duo slightly unnerved but they still flew strong none the less. They came to a fairly confusing point where the streak went up a wall where they couldn't reach. They nearly lost it before Daxter was able to spot that it was a point of turn around. He turned around and headed back in another direction. Jak was beginning to grow slightly peeved until they found the residual energy lead them to the southern port. There, the streak faded and Jak stopped the vehicle.

"Dammit!" He swore.

"Jak, c'mon. He's obviously here somewhere…" Daxter patted his buddy on the head.

"Whatever…" Jak shook his head, "This Jackass is more trouble than he's worth. Where would he go to in a stupid place like this."

"Well…" Daxter cut in, "If I were anywhere in this area… I'd be at the bar."

"Hmm…" Jak stroked his own goatee in thought, mocking Johan, "I think you may be on to something there Dax..."

"I am? Really?"

"Yeah, let's give it a shot." Jak chuckled making a beeline to the Hip-Hog.

The pair arrived at the saloon in no time at all, even though they took their time. Jak parked the zoomer and hopped off, Daxter on his shoulder. The two walked on into the saloon. It was unusually busy tonight. Jak had to jump back, narrowly missing being hit in the face with a wine bottle. A few men were fighting and groups of off duty Krimzon Guards were playing poker in the booths. Tess was working hard at the counter at this time. The patrons were ordering drink after drink after drink and she really had her work cut out for her. She nearly punched one of the men that had the nerve to refer to her as a 'wench'. Jak made his way up to the counter and took a seat, waving subtly at Tess. She caught it and walked over, obviously happy to see the two, but lacking the energy to truly show it.

"Hey guys." She greeted, a tired smile on her face as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Hey sugar…" Daxter winked. Tess giggled lightly.

"What brings you two here at this time?"

"I could ask the same of you. I thought you were going to talk to torn today for an assignment." Jak replied.

"Yeah, I was there; but, the assignment required my presence here. He wants me to keep an eye open and watch the people coming in and out of the Bar. He says there's been some heavy Wastelander traffic according to his informants. He wants me to confirm it."

"Ah…" Jak nodded, "Hey, a quick question. It would help us out on our assignment."

"Ask away." Tess continued as she wiped out a glass.

"Did you see a man come in here at all. Long green trench coat, dreads and a goatee?"

"Nope… I haven't…" Tess shook her head.

"Okay, how about a blue streak of sorts?" Daxter piped up.

"Heard a few people cursing a blue streak not long ago, kicked 'em out, but as far as a physical 'blue streak'… no."

"Damn." Jak shook his head and sighed, "I'm gonna step outside for a minute. You coming Dax?"

"Nah, I'm gonna stay back here and help Tess out. She looks like she could use a hand… or two." Dax grinned as Tess chuckled lightly in the background.

"Alright, I'll be back in a bit."

Jak sighed, turned and walked out the doors. The breeze off of the port waters hit him. The sun was finally setting, the darkness just beginning to fall over the city. In Jak's eyes, it couldn't have come any later. He sat down on the raised curb, just outside the entrance to the Hip-Hog. He wasn't used to this. He actually failed a mission, that was new. He knew he shouldn't be upset about it in the least, in fact, he should have deliberately failed at some point just to piss off Torn. That would have been great. He chuckled slightly at the thought, keeping it for later occasions. It was just then, he heard some rattling just above him where the sign stood. Jak stood up and walked out to get a better look at what was going on up there. When he saw it, he didn't know if he should be excited or enraged so he shouted the first thing that came to mind.

"You asshole!" He shouted and pointed.

"Who me?" Johan asked, placing a hand over his chest in reference to himself, "Well, I suppose that's true. I have therefore I am. But, you must remember, that would make you a dick… but in the end, that would also make me one… I really need to work on my comebacks."

"Would you just stop mumbling for a minute. God damn!" Jak shouted in frustration.

"You're right…" Johan quickly dropped down to the ground in front of Jak, "Still not willing to let me go without recruitment, eh?"

"No now, I'm just pissed off."

"Revenge never solved anything."

"Say that to me when you've encountered a past like mine."

"Ohh, I sense some serious angst."

Jak took a quick swing at Johan with his fist. How dare he mock him in this state, especially on such a subject? He was growling under his breath now.

"Look, Jak…" Johan began, "I understand you're angry."

"You don't know the half of it." Jak shouted back at him.

Johan sighed in defeat before he found himself with a sudden and rather bright idea.

"Jak," Johan began, "I saw this somewhere and I figured it might help you."

"What?" Jak mumbled with a frown. He was sick of dealing with this nut job.

In a quick motion, Johan clunked Jak on top of the head with his gauntlet-clad fist. Jak jumped up, shouting and cursing and swinging his fists madly at Johan. Johan simply dodged his attacks nonchalantly and waited for him to wear himself down a little before he continued.

"What the hell was that for?!" Jak demanded. Johan smiled almost maniacally.

"It doesn't matter. It's in the past!" Johan replied.

"You make no fucking sense!"

"Ah, but you miss the point."

"And what's the point?"

"The fact that it's in the past."

"Doesn't fucking matter… it still fucking hurts and I'm still pissed off."

"Yes, the past can hurt… and it drives some of us to so much rage we seek revenge." Johan replied as he approached Jak, carefully, and then quickly raised his fist again, about to land it on Jak's head once more. Jak blocked it this time and Johan jumped back.

"I'm not going to fall for that one again."

"And that, my friend, is where you learn your second lesson."

"Would you just talk normally already!"

"I don't think I will." Johan mused, "You see, you blocked my attack this time, this proves that not only does the past hurt and sometimes piss you off, but we also learn from the past."

Jak raised his eyebrow at this last statement. His face relaxed and he looked down at his hands as if to search himself for something. Johan let a smirk spread over his lips as he watched his work pay off. He jumped back up onto the sign of the Hip-Hog and watched Jak. Jak looked back up at Johan, look in his face resembling the angry, determined one he wore earlier, but with a slight weakness to it. He raised his hand and pointed at Johan.

"This doesn't change anything." He stated.

"I knew it wouldn't." Johan nodded.

Jak turned and began his walk back into the saloon when he heard Johan drop down behind him suddenly. He turned around, readying himself in case he tried anything funny.

"I have one last thing to say." Johan began.  
"I think I've heard quite enough." Jak frowned.

"Ah, but I insist." Johan smiled. Jak just looked at him as if to say 'continue'.

"I've thought about it, and I'm not officially 'joining' the Underground movement." He continued, "But for my own reasons and the possibilities of there it making my own quest a little easier, I'll work along 'side' the Underground for a short period of time. Take that to Torn."

"I will." Jak stated before turning around and re-entering the bar. Johan grinned, turned on his heel and bolted off into the night.

Jak walked in and took a look around. The bar was still just as rowdy, and he contemplated grabbing Daxter and just walking out. He was tired and his brain hurt. He couldn't stop running what Johan had said through his mind. When he saw Daxter enjoying his time with Tess, he decided he wouldn't be so cruel as to drag him away. He quietly walked over and slipped into an empty booth. He placed his head in his hands and his elbow on the table and sighed, closing his eyes. Damn it, his head hurt. Someone shouted, making Jak jump a little at the sudden sound. It was then, he heard a rattling noise followed by a soft clicking and clanking. He looked down under the table only to see the bottle that Torn had given him earlier had fallen out of his pocket. He reached down and picked it up, placing it in front of him.

"Pain-killers, huh?" Jak reminisced as he massaged his temples.

'From what I've heard from my informants, you're definitely going to need them.' Torn's voice echoed through his head, interrupting his thoughts.

Jak shook his head lightly and grinned. He popped open the little white bottle and let two, transparent blue capsules popped out into his hand. He popped the top back onto the bottle, stuffed it into his pocket and quickly downed the pills. He laid his head down on the table and decided to wait until everything calmed down a bit before he headed back to the Hideout.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- The Iron Tailed Man.

It had been three days since Johan had given his consent to Torn and the Underground to call him up if needed. The second day in, Jak returned to Johan and handed him a communicator with a direct frequency to Torn and the other members, he took it, but with slight grief overwhelming him. He knew what it meant; no more free time, and if he should so get said 'free time' he'd have to make the absolute most of it. So much for only working alongside the Underground. He should have known that Torn would do his damnedest to milk him for all that he had. He raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly at the thought. Right now, it was late and he actually had some free time; likely the last of the free time he'd have for quite a while and he decided he'd spend it at the Hip-Hog. He needed a break from Brutter's powerful brew.

"Well, It's kind of what I wanted," Johan sighed as he took a drink from the glass of whisky he was working on. Tess handed it to him on the house. "I'll get more information this way." With that, he downed the last of the spirit and set the glass down quietly.

The bar was decently calm tonight. It was quiet, serene and some light background music was playing alongside the nearly silent mumbling of the small amount of people present. There were only a few patrons and they were quietly seated in the booths making small conversation over their drinks. Johan sighed again and laid his head down on the counter. It was all a little depressing, but he knew that in the end, it would all be worth it and this brought a smile to his face. Tess saw him in his state and quietly set another drink in front of him. She smiled sympathetically.

"You make it seem so terrible." She spoke quietly.

"Nah," Johan replied, "I'm just not used to it. I'm a free spirit and if it wasn't obvious, I have some serious problems with authority. It's gonna take a little bit of time."

"If it helps any, a lot of us are happy you decided to help us."

"Don't be too excited. I'm doing this partly for my own reasons as well."

"We all have our own reasons." Tess stated softly. Johan gave a quiet chuckle.

He sat up with a little smile on his lips. Tess may have portrayed herself as a ditzy blonde often, but the girl did have a few words of wisdom to offer time and again. He knew about the chemistry between Daxter and herself. He envied the little rodent slightly; being cute, small and fuzzy certainly did have its perks in this case.

It was then that the doors almost seemed to slam open. They didn't really; it was just that the bar was so quiet that the sudden noise seemed closer to an explosion compared to the normal flow at that moment. Johan turned slightly on his barstool to get a little glimpse of the individual that had just walked in. He was a fairly tall and thin man. His heavy black boots pounded on the floor unintentionally as he walked and his long black trench coat swept the floor behind him. He eyed everyone in the room as he continued to walk forward toward the counter. Some of the people seemed unnerved and Tess watched him carefully before turning to tend to some glasses in need of cleaning. The man sat down right next to Johan, completely ignoring him and just sitting there with a stern look upon his face. Johan snorted a little as he glanced over at him, noting the bright red colour of his hair.

"A ginger…" He muttered under his breath as he went to lift his glass.

The other man took one glance over at Johan, narrowing his blue eyes as Johan reached for his drink. Johan caught this and stalled only for a moment before turning his attention back to his prior engagement, but before he could even grasp it, it was swiped, right before his eyes. Johan blinked a few times before trying to figure out what could have possibly happened, he didn't even see what took it. He quirked an eyebrow and looked up over at Tess, she was still busy tending to the glasses, then he looked over to the side, at the redhead. He was nonchalantly sipping at a drink that Johan didn't remember him having before. Something here wasn't right and he decided to test it.

"Hey, uh, Tess?" Johan called out.

"Yeah?" She glanced behind herself for a brief second.

"Think I could maybe, possibly, get another drink, please?"

"No problem." She put some ice cubes in a glass and poured the whisky over it. By the time she had it to Johan, the redhead had finally finished the drink, which Johan was sure wasn't his.

This time, Johan tapped into his senses and watched the drink carefully. He took precautions to make sure it wasn't evident that he was watching. He glanced at the redhead for a moment again, they made eye contact this time; both of them glaring. It was then that it happened. He watched it happen in almost a slow motion before him. From round the man's waist, uncoiled a long metallic tail. It shot out, hidden just enough by the coat. It coiled around Johan's drink and tried to take off, but Johan wasn't going to let it happen this time. He reached out with his right hand and grabbed the tail. The drink, miraculously, slipped from the grip of the tail and fell to the counter flat, spilling only a few drops. The entire bar silenced at the sight, the redhead was baffled. This was evident by the wide eyes staring almost frightened at the hand grasping what was, in fact, his tail. Johan was even surprised. It was actually attached to him; he tugged it a few times.

"Didn't your mum ever tell you it's wrong to steal?" Johan raised an eyebrow.

Those were the last words he said before he was flung across the bar and into the opposite wall. The tail wrapped around Johan's arm, lifted him and threw him. Johan sat up and shook his head to knock the sense back into himself. As he finally refocused, he saw the redheaded man bolt out the doors of the bar. Johan quickly stood up and bolted out the doors after him at top speed. He stopped directly in front of the man's path and the redhead ran right into him. Almost terrified, the redhead turned and tried the opposite direction. Johan quickly stopped him again. The redhead became frustrated and stepped back a few paces, glaring daggers at Johan.

"Who are you?" Johan asked, raising his eyebrow with the question.

The redhead stood up straight and grinned suddenly. Johan had to quickly jump out of the way for the man let fly the tail. It flew out from behind him, extended and smashed into the ground to his left making it quite evident that there was a slight bladed edge to the tip of it. Before Johan could regain himself, he received a quick blow to the face from a fist. Johan, however, did not go down. The next swing came his way and he blocked it with his right arm, following it up by swiftly sending a kick to the opposing man's face. The man was forced back a few paces, but he flew back in with another attack. He jabbed at Johan with the pointed end of his tail. Johan dodged as best as he could, but one took him off guard and lacerated the skin of his left shoulder. He immediately grabbed at the wound with his left hand.

"Enough of this." Johan growled, "You want to fight dirty, let's go."

He took on a serious fighting stance now, and waited. The redheaded man also took on a solid stance. They both grinned as they took note of each other's positions. This was going to be a fairly decent match.

"Hey! It's the Eco Freak!" A voice called out, breaking both of the men's concentration.

"He's with the Hybrid. Shoot to kill! Shoot to kill!"

The voices were the ones of Krimzon Guards; a full patrol of them. Johan's eyes widened and he jumped back as shots began to fire. The redhead was nearly hit and took a few paces back before getting the wise idea of barreling straight at the patrol. The look of determination and rage in his eyes actually scared a few guards to a pause before he barreled past them, straight into the crowd of guards. Johan reached out, as if to make some feeble attempt to stop him.

"No!" He shouted as the man disappeared into the patrol, "You fucking dumbass!"

Johan bolted after him through the Guards at a blinding speed. He had to catch the bastard, although he was still unsure as to whether he wanted to slaughter him or simply ask him who and what the hell he was. He caught up to him and slowed to his pace, running exactly alongside him. The redhead looked to the side and nearly jumped clear out of his skin. Johan just gave a glare, the redhead was evidently too scared to even try to look tough.

After a while of running through the industrial section of the city, the two finally found themselves gasping for some sort of breath. The guard's voices were so long off now; it was imminent that they would give up looking for them within at least five minutes. They leaned against a random wall under one of the many walkways overhead. The redhead fell to the ground, sitting and wheezing. Johan continued to lean up against the wall to catch his breath. It was a good run, worked out some of the stress of what was currently hitting him. The adrenaline rush was nice too, in fact, it was so nice, it made him happy… perhaps a little too happy. He let a wide grin spread across his face and he threw his head back suddenly and began absolutely erupting with laughter. He began to laugh so hard, his face started to turn red and tears began to leak from his eyes. This frightened the redhead as it began and he stood up to take a few steps back. All he did was stare, mouth agape and eyes wide. He couldn't say anything. Johan slouched to the ground now as his abdominal muscles gave out and he lost his posture. He continued to laugh at the ordeal. He opened his eyes slightly as he began to calm down and focused on the redhead. Then, there was silence.

"What the HELL is wrong with you?" The redhead demanded. Johan replied only now by pointing and laughing at him.

"What the hell is so damn funny?" The redhead was now frantic. Johan still continued to laugh.

It was at this point; the redhead took a good look at Johan. He watched as this grown man sat on the dirty ground, face red and wrinkled with some sort of non-existent hilarity, and finally he too began to laugh. He sat down beside Johan, who grabbed him around the shoulders and pulled him in only to laugh even harder. You would expect the man to be taken aback by this, but no. He tuned in and began to laugh alongside Johan. It was quite a sight. They looked pathetically and unmistakably, drunk. A citizen walked by as this went on and nearly tripped over themselves, watching the bizarre scene. It went on for a full twenty minutes before dying down due to complaints of a lack of breathe, facial cramps and in the redhead's terms 'too much happy.'

XxX

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize for what I did earlier." The redhead spoke suddenly over his drink.

"Meh, accepted. I get stuff like that a lot." Johan replied, downing a mug of ale.

"Yeah. I've just gotten so used to the way this city works, it was so much instinct."

"I've seen it all before." Johan raised an eyebrow as he looked over across the table in the booth they sat in. They had earlier walked back to the Hip-Hog almost 'buddy-buddy' as it were.

The redheaded man looked almost distant, as if reminiscing in memories of some kind, and judging by the amount of distance in his eyes, they were not good memories. Johan raised an eyebrow and stared long at the redhead as he continues to delve into his thoughts. Johan knew that feeling all too well; he turned back to his now empty mug on the counter and thought about what to say.

"So," Johan began, "What's your name anyway?"

"I haven't been called by my real name in so long." The redhead replied, "I don't really think I would want to."

"Then, what should I call you at the very least?"

"I read an interesting name in a book once. It referred to a fox-like demon. I remember that I really liked it at the time."

"I see, a reader are you?"

"I used to be."

"So, what was the name?"  
"Kitsune."

"Sounds kind of odd…" Johan mused, "Odd name for an odd man. I like it."

"Heh… And yourself?"

"Johan."

Tess listened silently to the conversation between the two men and served another round of drinks. She found it almost intriguing how quickly things could turn in the course of one night. Things were silent again as Kitsune, as he dubbed himself, stared off again into deep thoughts. Johan shook his head, wanting to bring his new acquaintance out of this depressive state, but he could think of nothing. Kitsune's tail came up, only to wrap around the glass set in front of him. He rested his clean-shaven chin on his hands as his tail let him sip at the spirit. Johan watched it gleam in the dim light, it held a beautiful metallic sheen in this atmosphere; much like the artifact welded to his arm. He couldn't help but stare in wonder.

"If it's not too painful to answer," Said Johan, breaking Kitsune from his thoughts, "Could you tell me how it was you received that tail of yours?"

Kitsune's expression sunk as he forced himself to delve deeper into his memories. Johan could tell they were deep and unwelcome memories, but he just had to know. Kitsune looked over at him, sighed and nodded before turning to face him completely. Johan turned as well to place full attention on the redheaded man as he began to tell the story of his life.

XxX

The heavily armored feet of the Krimzon Guards pounded upon the steel floor as they grew closer and closer to the single cell, to the far end of the prison. It was dark and isolated from the rest, but a being still resided within its dank and rusted dwelling. Within moments, the rusty old door was commanded open by an intricate code. It slid, metal on metal, screeching as it went and releasing a few sparks. It finished its dreadful and eerie cycle with a loud 'clank' and a hiss of relaxing hydraulics. The single, yet bright light was switched on and a man, no more than nineteen was ripped from his sleep as the sheets were ripped from his body. Before the man could even swear or curse, the Guards yanked him from the cot and dragged kicking, but not screaming, out onto the dimly lit floors of the prison. He could hear orders being barked, crackling of electricity and screaming from other cells, but he was more concerned for himself… and for good reason.

"Strap him down." The tall man commanded with a loud and gruff voice, "We shall see what this one has in him."

"Do you really think he could possibly bear this treatment? He's scrawny and pathetic." The shorter and smaller man, a guard commander, asked.

"Do you dare to question my choices, my intellect and my rule?" The taller man barked, iron half of his face turned.

"No, Baron Praxis."

"It's a good thing, Erol. It's how you keep your head."

Erol sneered behind his leaders back as the Baron moved himself over to the console on the other side of the operating table. The red-haired man from the prison cell was currently being strapped down, though it was proving to be a perilous task as he put up one hell of a fight. Every time a guard would force his hand down, he'd find a way to free the other and punch the guard in the face. It took five men and close to twenty minutes of constant order barking from The Baron for the man to finally be restrained. Erol grinned as the man helplessly tugged at his binds, desperately trying to free himself at any cost. It was as if he knew exactly what was to come. He walked over, a slight bounce in his step as he took his place by the man's head and places his hands on either side, snapping it in place and holding it still. The man grimaced at the sudden, aggressive motion.

"Don't worry. This will only hurt a little." Erol whispered mockingly into the redhead's ear. His eyes widened at this small statement.

Suddenly, the humming sounds of electricity filled his ears. The Baron was pressing buttons on the console beside the operating table now, a slow grin spreading across his half iron face. The man's eyes darted back up to Erol's only to see an even more sinister grin playing upon his lips. He was about to shout something when a new sound caught his attention. The sound of sleek, sharp metal unraveling against itself fired up by advanced circuitry and careful control. He looked slowly to his right, terrified of what horrors may away him.

A long, thin metal rod unfolded and extended next to him. On the end opened a base in the mocking shape of a flower, as it seemed, a deadly bladed one. It moved itself closer to him and he shivered. A clear, plastic tube fell and attached itself to the device now hovering dangerously close to his person. It quickly filled up with a dark, black fluid and the man was near on the verge of tears. When he thought it couldn't possibly get any worse, the device quickly sprouted and a long, thin and sharp needle; and he nearly screamed. He choked on his own breath as the countdown sequence began, counting backwards from ten.

"Although, the coming after…" Erol began, "Much more so…"

"This is the DNA serum, am I correct?" The Baron growled.

"Yes, my Baron. The Metalhead essence has been stabilized in this fluid. I was given a warning to give to you though, sir."

"And what is that, Erol?" The Baron narrowed his eyes at his follower.

"It required a few cc's of dark eco in order to keep active."

"Wh-what are you going to do to me. What is this?" The red headed man screamed out.

"You're going to help us." Erol replied with a grin as he patted the man's face.

The Countdown sequence ended all too quickly and the needle quickly plunged into the man's jugular and began to pump the serum into him. His joints locked and his muscles tensed, his mouth opened in a silent gasp as the burn began to flow through him. It felt so foreign; so unnatural and he felt almost, for lack of better words, violated. The same stupid smirk was still plastered on Erol's face as his evil, amber eyes still laughed at him in his misery. He couldn't see The Baron; he couldn't move anything. He could only hear the fading hysterical laughter he emitted and the cries of success evident in his bio readings. He was no longer and never would be the same man ever again.

No more than three weeks later had they come for him again, strapping him down to the same table. As if dealing with the changes of the genetic alteration alone weren't enough. Within a short few days, his bones began to reposition and harden; his eye colour changed and his thoughts were jumbled. It just wasn't enough in their minds. They had constructed a Metalhead tail out of treated metal and actual Metalhead parts and organs. They attached the piece to his spinal column and performed the surgery without anesthetic. He remembered nearly passing out from the pain at many points, but was always awakened by the sound of his own screaming.

He was left in his cell to rot only a few days later as the new body part began to show early signs of rejection. He found new hope in escape as the power to the prison was put to blackout for only a few moments. It was in the process of his running that he made the realization, that the tail was not rejecting, it was programming itself to his own structure… and he used it to fight.

XxX

Kitsune was in tears as he went through these memories. Johan had no idea was to make of it really. He was a strong man, and to see someone like him suffer like this nearly killed him, mostly with fear. If this city could do this to someone like Kitsune, what things could it do to others? Tess looked over for a moment because she heard some noises coming from their direction, she was slightly taken aback by the scene before her. Johan was hugging a sobbing Kitsune, in a bar, drunk as a skunk. She half giggled and half sighed and smiled.

"Johan likes to think he's selfish…" She whispered to herself, "But he's just lying to himself." She walked off to tend to a few other customers, leaving the two to speak.

"All of the people I've killed… All of the things they've done and not just to me, but to others. So many people, so many screams, so much death." Kitsune babbled, "I feel like a fucking wimp like this."

"Hah…" Johan laughed, "I don't know many who can go through what you have and even have the will to live."

Kitsune laughed slightly.

"What I mean to say is, man, you've got a lot going for you. You actually give a shit and something is burning in you and keeping you going, keeping you alive and fighting." Johan thought for a second, "Now that I think about it. How much would you like to have a hand in bringing this to a close?"

"More than you could possibly know." Kitsune growled.

"Good," Johan grinned, "I guess that means I can tell Torn I've found him someone else to order around."

Kitsune looked confused, "What?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"There's this group. They call themselves The Underground and they're fighting this, fighting to bring that bastard in that stupid palace down." Johan stated, emphasizing by slamming his fist into his palm, "And I'm just thinking… you might be interested."

Kitsune sat back and thought. Johan leaned in and raised his eyebrows awaiting the answer, in suspense. Kitsune's face changed, his frown quickly switched to that of a mischievous grin. Johan quickly got the message.

"Fuck it…" Kitsune began, "I'm in. Where do I sign up?"  
"I'll take you there tonight and we'll wake up Torn and piss him off." Johan mused.

"Sounds good!" Kitsune shouted as he took another drink from his glass. He felt triumphant now.

"Yeah, there we go, look at you!" Johan laughed.

"I feel empowered."

"And you should my friend." Johan took another drink from his glass.

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

They were both standing now and shouting random things at each other. What began to sudden encouragement and empowerment quickly changed into a yelling match. Tess was just about to cut in when Kitsune took a drunken swing at a drunken Johan, and said 'drunken Johan' hit the ground out cold. Kitsune's hands quickly shot up to his mouth as he gasped slightly.

"Uh… Oops?" He muttered, to which Tess slapped her palm into forehead.

"Men… Fucking drunken men…" She swore as she walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Suicide on a Stick

Torn was in all his mighty glory, praising the precursors in Dreamland. He was sprawled out on one of the cots in the small room that was the headquarters, each limb pointing in a different direction and face snuggled up to a pillow with an open-mouthed smile on his lips. His dreads were flung about carelessly and some drool, yes, drool was dripping slowly from his murmuring mouth. Sleep; it was all he had on his mind now, likely dreaming of maps, plots, plans and of course; victory. Oh the joy! So much joy, but…it had to be then that it happened.

The sounds of footsteps walking carelessly down a stairwell and Torn's left eye flew open. The insanity inducing rumble of stone rolling over stone… and Torn's right eye opened slowly. The muffled click of the evil door followed by it's all too familiar hiss of hydraulics. Torn's eyebrows knit themselves together, he slurped up the bit of drool falling slowly from his mouth, frowned and snorted, but he did not move. The footsteps continued, and stopped, where he knew, were right behind him and he could feel their questioning stare upon his back. He didn't even have to look.

"Uh… Torn?" A rare voice filled his ears. It was Johan; that was new.

"I brought someone who would like to see you." Johan continued.

Torn was simply silent, he did not move, nor grumble or groan. He just waited, he was waiting for words to explain how this was important; for you see, Torn was sleeping. He didn't get to do that all too often.

"He's interested in joining our fight." Johan finished.

"Muu…" Kitsune mumbled and waved slightly, even though Torn could not see him.

At the end of that last incoherent word coming from the unfamiliar man, something inside Torn snapped. Perhaps it was actual anger, or maybe he was just cranky, but needless to say, it just snapped and a vein popped itself quite awkwardly out of his neck. Taking judgment by the shift heard by the two men in the room, it was evident they took note of this suddenly protruding vein as well. Torn brought up his left arm and slammed it down next to his head. He used it to lift himself up enough to use his right. In a smooth and silent movement, he was on his feet and walking over to his familiar spot behind his round table. There, he slammed both his hands down on either side of himself and hung his head and mumbled what sounded to be a few incoherent swear words.

"What's your name?" He asked with a groan as he pulled out a pen and a piece of paper

"K-Kitsune…" The redheaded man replied nervously.

Torn still hadn't lifted his head to look at either of them as he wrote the name down on the paper he had. He ended his writing with a resounding clunk, which was Torn's printing of the period at the end, even though it was thoroughly unnecessary.

"And, 'Kitsune'," Torn added for emphasis, "What is your reasoning or objective for wanting to join our movement?" A small sneer was made visible even though he still hadn't lifted his head.

"He wants to see the Baron…" Johan began.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Torn cut him off, "Kitsune, continue…"

"I want to see the Baron suffer as much as he's made suffer the people of this city… myself included." Kitsune replied.

"Good." Was all that Torn said, "You sound sincere… but I'm still not convinced."

Torn dropped his pen onto the table and walked over to a secondary pile of papers in the corner of the room. He pulled three from the top and looked over them before turning to the other two men in the room. This time, his face, angry eyes and vein were fully visible. He walked back to the table and slammed the paper down in front of them and began to skim over it with his finger.

"This is a new report handed to me personally by one of my informants. Before Jak came back and told me of what kind of trading was taking place between the Guard and the Metalheads, I would never have believed it." Torn began.

"What kind of trading is taking place?" Johan asked.

"They're giving eco to the Metalheads."

"Doesn't surprise me much."

"Anyway, there's a holding facility that we've located in the basement level of the fortress. It's loaded with barrels of eco that are being prepped for trade. I need you… no, both of you, to go down there, collect as much information as possible and dispose of the eco to the best of your ability. I want to see what happens when the bastards don't get what they came for."

"How the hell are we supposed to dispose of the eco?" Johan asked.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? Just, be creative."

Johan looked at Kitsune who glared at him questioningly. Johan just shrugged and grinned nervously.

"What the hell are you two doing just standing there?" Torn shouted, "Get the hell out and get to fucking work!"

Kitsune jumped and made a quiet noise that could be somewhat compared to a 'yelp'. A combination of Torn's sudden shouting and the fact that Johan had grabbed him by the scruff of this coat and was quickly dragging him up the stairs gave him quite a fright. Once Torn was absolutely certain that the two men had left him (evident by the insanity inducing sound of that door) he huffed, growled and then sighed before walking back over to the cot he was happily resting upon earlier. He propped up his pillow the way he liked it and again, sprawled himself out awaiting glorious sleep. As dreams of victory began to swarm his mind, the evil door began to open once again. The sound of careless footsteps filled his tattoo covered ears and he grumbled. He turned himself over only to come face to face with Jak and his orange fuzzy rat. He glowered at them with such a fierce intensity, Jak, once catching sight of this nearly turned to stone. Torn sat up and lifted his hand to point at Jak.

"Get… Out…" Torn growled.

"B-but…" Daxter began

"Get… OUT!" Torn cut him off.

The two began to back out of the doors and up the stairs slowly as if attempting to make their way around a very angry grizzly bear. As it turns, this slow and non-threatening movement was not fast enough and thus, dissatisfying to Torn. He stood up and nonchalantly walked to his wonderful table, and grabbed the rolls of his only friends: his maps.

Like rockets, Jak and Daxter flew up the stairs and through the doors of the headquarters. They were followed by wads of paper, rolled up maps, bits of metal, a few pens and one very heavy boot as well as the aforementioned being chased out by a string of rough and gruff curses and swear words in an abundance enough to make a sailor blush. Within mere moments, the duo was nowhere to be found nor heard and Torn was finally alone in the headquarters. He walked over to the doors and took great attention to the box located on the wall next to it. It contained all of the wires and codes that kept the doors automated. He took a look at it, growled an incoherent swear and smashed it with his fist.

XxX

"Man, that Torn guy's got some issues." Kitsune quirked his left eyebrow as he followed Johan.

"Yeah, he's a little more psycho than he needs to be." Johan grinned as he looked back at his new friend.

"A little?"

Johan just laughed. While he personally knew Torn was a fairly angry middle-aged man, he still got one hell of a kick out of pissing him off. Perhaps it was that little bit of comfort knowing that Torn wouldn't remove him from the Underground for one particular little reason; Torn needed him there. This was heavily evident by the fact he went out looking for him and nearly begged him to join. Lavishing in these thoughts and conclusions, Johan smiled deviously to himself. Perhaps he had more freedom in this than he had first thought.

"The hell are you grinning about?" Kitsune suddenly asked.

"Who me?" Johan asked, placing a hand on his chest in reference to himself.

"Nah… your twin brother over there." Kitsune replied sarcastically. Johan laughed.

"Nothing, just a few thoughts." Johan answered truthfully.

"I see. You know, between yourself and that 'Torn guy' I'm not sure how long I'll last in this 'Underground' movement thing."

"Don't worry about it. Even with as angry as he sounded, I can guarantee you're not going anywhere."

"How can you make such a 'guarantee' Mr. Eco Freak?"

Johan turned to him and smiled deviously, "He took you on didn't he?"

"Yeah, but isn't this a 'test' of sorts?"

"Haha! Test, seriously, you're with me. You haven't got anything to worry about."

Johan turned on his heel and began walking onward toward their destination. Before he turned, Kitsune made note of the massive and rather smug smile plastered on the man's face. He shook his head and began to follow.

"You're the secondary to what I am worried about." He mumbled under his breath.

"Aha!"

The sudden exclamation caught Kitsune off guard and he stopped. His eyes darted forward toward Johan who was squinting and learning forward, examining the building they were standing in front of. Kitsune raised his eyebrow in both confusion and amusement at the other man's antics before Johan finally stated what was on his mind.

"I believe this is the entrance to the Fortress." Johan stated whilst stroking his goatee.

"What grounds have you to believe that this is it?" Kitsune asked, eyebrow raised.

"Well, the fact that the symbol for the K.G. is printed on this door just so happens to be a read give away."

Kitsune looked up only to jump slightly after taking in the painted iron that was the door to the fortress. Why hadn't he noticed this before? Either way, it didn't matter now.

"So, how do we get in?" Kitsune enquired.

"That, is a very good question my friend. Hmm…"

Johan walked carefully up the metal ramp to the door, his steel-toed boots clanking against the iron. The door appeared to be sliding and automatic, but as many times as Johan waved his hands around and hopped up and down in front of them, they didn't budge. He paused, stroked his goatee again and huffed quietly in slight frustration. He then pulled back his right fist and then let it fly in a fast and powerful punch. A resounding crunch escaped the metal alongside a slight 'ting' sound. He shook his hand and blew on his knuckles examining his work. There was a massive dent in the iron door, but it was still completely intact. Again, he huffed, this time a little more frustration evident in his features.

"Here, let me try." Kitsune proposed as he pushed Johan out of the way.

Johan stood off to the side to watch what Kitsune had in mind. First, the redhead flipped his head around to examine the area. Once he was certain there were no people in the vicinity, he let his metal tail unravel itself from under his coat and around his waist. It rose up into the air and Johan watched with a grin on his face. The metal gleamed in the twilight as it pulled back a fair distance before lunging forward and driving the bladed tip into the iron door, effectively punching a hole in it. With quick precision, Kitsune pulled the tail downward, cutting a ragged opening in the left side of the door. Johan nodded, still grinning. He walked over, grabbed hold of an opening and pried it open just enough for the two men to fit through one at a time.

"Nice work, Hybrid." Johan laughed.

"Don't mention it, Eco Freak." Kitsune grinned.

The two entered the fortress and took in the change in atmosphere. The lights in the small room gave off a blue glow that accentuated the steel floors and components to the consoles. The air was filled with the sounds of air exchange vents, far away heavy machinery and the beeping of computers. To their right, there appeared to be an opening leading into a long hallway. The opening was, unfortunately, guarded off by what appeared to be high powered blue eco beams.

"I get the feeling we're supposed to go that way." Johan pointed toward the guarded off entrance.

"Looks a little dangerous right now. Think there's a way to turn them off?" Kitsune asked as he looked about the room.

"Maybe… Check the consoles and see if you can make anything of them."

"Right-o then."

Kitsune jogged on over to the console on the far left and took a look at all of the buttons. None of which are labeled.

"Hmm, well… For blue eco beams, try the blue buttons?" Kitsune asked himself.

With no reply, Kitsune went on ahead and pressed the blue button. Within only a moment of him pressing this button, an alarm was sounded, a really loud alarm at that. The pale blue glow of the room faded to that of flashing red and both Kitsune and Johan jumped out of their skin. From the far end of the room, what appeared to be a normal wall began to rise up, and the heavily armored feet of Krimzon Guards could be heard from behind it. Kitsune squeaked in partial surprise as well as terror.

"Johan! We need to get a move on." He nearly screeched.

"I hear ya!" Johan shouted back.

Thinking quickly, Johan ran up to the eco beams and made a tough decision.

"This is gonna hurt… a lot." He muttered to himself as he pulled back his right arm. He sent a rip-roaring punch toward the first generator effectively smashing it and it's ability to produce the beam. Quickly he did the same to the other. His hands were sliced up and bloody from the glass in the generators and the markings as well as artifact on his right arm were glowing and burning profusely due to the supercharge they just received.

"Get your ass moving!" Johan growled more than shouted.

Kitsune bolted off in front of him down the hallway, Johan quickly caught up to him as they ran. They could hear the heavy footsteps of the Guards behind them and feel the heat of the passing bullets as they missed their targets. The K.G. were pissed, there were no ifs, ands or buts about it.

"This turned out to be a hell of a night." Kitsune shouted as they ran.

"It's actually morning now… approximately two A.M." Johan replied.  
"I don't give a shit what time it is! I don't know if I want to do this anymore!"

"Aww, don't say that!"

"I mean it, this had better improve!" Kitsune ducked to dodge a bullet.

"Improve?" Johan roared with laughter, "This is the fun part! It only gets worse from here!"

"God dammit!" Kitsune cursed.

The two continued to run, dodging bullets and faulty flooring the entire way; stumbling and rolling to avoid their deaths. Finally, up ahead, Johan caught a glimpse of hope, an elevator at the end of the hallway. He grinned almost sadistically as he thought of what he must do next.

"Kitsune!" He shouted.

"What? What now?" Kitsune shouted back.

"You see that up ahead?"

"Yeah."

"It's an elevator."

"Okay!"

"Get to it, start it up, we want the basement floor. I'll take care of these fuckers."

With that, Johan skidded and spun around to a halt. Kitsune kept running as fast as he possibly could to the elevator. Johan watched the advancing guards with a mischievous glint in his eyes. The super charge of eco was certainly going to come in handy now. He raised his right, bloody hand and felt the energy course through him, the burn in his body and the light emanating from the artifact. With a final flash of his smile, he slammed his hand into the steel floor and sent a surge of blue electricity through it. The floor creaked and began to buckle making some of the guards stop and pull back. Within a moment, the floor whipped itself upward sending a wave of metal down the hall. The Guards toppled like dominoes and some even flew up in the air to hit the ceiling first before crashing back down to the ground. A few managed to escape the fate that had befallen upon the others and set themselves up to begin open fire upon Johan.

The bullets once again began to rain down upon the men. Kitsune was continuously pressing the downward arrow button on the elevator. He knew it was coming, he could hear the whir of the machinery as it flew up the floor levels but in his mind it just wasn't fast enough. He was panicking a little now as one of the bullets flew by and ricocheted off of the metal wall beside him. Johan grinned back at him for a moment and he gave him a look as if to let him know he thought he was absolutely psychotic.

Johan returned his attention to the task at hand. He once again, charged himself up before slamming his fist into the floor, sending electrical waves in his enemy's direction. One by one, he watched them hit the ground, unconscious from the shock.

"Yeah! Underground: one, K.G.: zero!" Johan shouted as he stood and gave the fallen guards the finger with both hands, "Take that ya fuckers!"

"Johan, the door's open, get the fuck in here dammit!" Kitsune shouted, evidently irritated by Johan's childishness.

Johan turned and jogged over to the elevator where he hopped on inside just as the door began to close. With a resounding clank, the door was secured and then the whir of the machinery began. The elevator dropped rather rapidly, taking the two by surprise. Finally, they could get on with it.

XxX

The elevator came to an abrupt halt at the basement level. The door opened and the two men walked out. The first thing that hit them was the stench; the smell of old rusted metals, decaying rat carcasses and even the undertone of sewage. It was absolutely horrendous. Johan quickly brought his hand up to clamp his nostrils shut, but upon trying to breathe through his mouth, he discovered the scent was so heavy, he could taste it and he gagged. He looked over at Kitsune who was making no attempt to block out the hideous smell and quirked a questioning eyebrow.

"Can you not smell that?" Johan asked after he finished gagging.

"Oh, I can. I'm just used to it." Kitsune replied nonchalantly.

Johan just blinked, "I don't think I want to know."

"No, you don't." With that, Kitsune began taking a few careful steps forward. Johan just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

The place was dark for the most part, there appeared to be some sort of eerie green glow coming from dimming lights in the area. This dim light gleamed off of pipes and vinyl encased wires as well as the scrap metal floor beneath their feet. Johan took in his surroundings, watching for possible traps as well as enemies. It was then; he heard the clanking of metal coming from just down a hallway to the far left of their position. He narrowed his eyes; Kitsune seconded that motion. The clanking of metal was soon accompanied by what sounded like voices, distinctively distorted by the helmet of a Krimzon Guard. As soon as the clanking stopped, the voices became more frequent and started to become louder as if they were coming toward them. They had to hide.

"Where do we go? There's no where to hide." Kitsune whispered.

"Here, I have a plan." Johan replied as he flattened himself against the wall beside the hallway entrance.

Kitsune followed Johan, only taking refuge on the opposite side. Johan nodded and pointed toward the hallway. He was hinting at what they were planning to do. The guards emerged from the hallway, they took a few steps past, completely oblivious of the two Underground members waiting on either side of them. With a moment's notice, Johan clasped his hands together in a mega fist and brought it down on top of the helmet of the first guard, knocking him out cold. The second guard cocked his weapon and pointed it at Johan who made a secondary signal, trying his damndest to get Kitsune's attention.

Just as the guard was about to pull the trigger, he was stabbed straight through his middle by Kitsune's tail. The guard fell to the ground, a puddle of blood forming beneath him.

"I suppose that having a tail does have it's perks…" Johan raised his eyebrow as he looked down at the dead guard.

XxX

The room at the end of the hall was certainly what they were looking for. As it turns out, Torn's informant was completely correct, there was an entire shipment of dark eco here; barrels upon barrels of it. There had to be at least five hundred. The two member's eyes widened as they took in sight before them.

"I knew it was possible that they would be trading with the metal heads, but I didn't know it was to this extent. Think about it, if this is only one shipment, how many more of this size were shipped before this." Kitsune gasped.

"I suppose this explains the city's eco shortage. This is quite an extensive amount." Johan added.

"How the hell are we suppose to get rid of all this?"

Johan looked around the room for anything they could use. He suddenly caught sight of a tank in the corner, it was evidently disabled, but it was certainly a start.

"I think, I have a plan." Johan grinned.

"Oh?" Kitsune began before looking in the same direction as Johan, "Oh… I see what you got there."

The two ran over to the tank, Johan climbed up on top of it to examine it. He tapped on it with his fist hoping that it might be a manual; to his dismay, it was not. He scratched his head in silent thought before getting an idea; it wasn't a great idea, but an idea nonetheless. Kitsune cocked his head to the side as he pondered on just what Johan was thinking.

Johan charged up his arm quickly, found the circuit box on top of the tank, the shoved his fist into it. The blue eco jolted through the tank, the cannon's lifted and it began to move. Kitsune began to back away.

"Good idea, I don't have full control of it's movements." Johan explained as the tank slowly drove forward, "Now, if my theory is correct…" He sent a quick shock into the circuit panel, and out of dumb luck, found it was enough to trigger the cannons.

"Yeah! Creativity at it's best." Kitsune laughed.

"Abso-fucking-lutely…" Johan grinned as he set off the cannon again, destroying at least ten barrels of eco.

It wasn't tedious work, but wasn't easy either. Nine times out of ten, they missed their targets and it was taking them forever to get the job done but at least they were having fun with it. It took at least three hours (of laughing and dodging accidentally fired shots) before the job was finally done. Every barrel in the room was busted, contents slowly evaporating as it puddled on the floor. Once he was sure all of the eco barrels had been destroyed, Johan hopped off of the tank to land next to Kitsune with a massive grin on his face.

"A job well done." Johan laughed heartily.

"Uh…Eco Freak…" Kitsune began.

"Yes, Hybrid?"

"You forgot to turn off the tank."

Johan's grin faded as he turned around only to witness the tank traveling sporadically in different directions. It was heading directly toward a massive electrical control console. In all honesty, it just didn't look like it would end well… it was when the tank fired it's cannon at the console and it blew up instantly that things began to look extremely bad. The two men dove to the floor to avoid the flying debris.

Bits of metal and electrical wire flew across the room as well as flaming particles. The room was now on fire and due to the dark eco spilled all over the floor, it was catching very quickly. Johan raised his head to look around only to drop it to the floor again as another console exploded.

"Jesus Christ!" He shouted, "Kitsune? Where are you?"

Johan heard no more than a squeak from across the room. He quickly turned his attention to this only to catch a glimpse of his friend lying on the floor with a massive, jagged piece of scrap metal driven straight through his left shoulder. Johan quickly crawled over to him, beneath the smoke. When he reached him, he could see Kitsune's face, twisted in pain as he grabbed at the metal piece with his right hand. Johan slapped it away.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kitsune shouted.

"You're supposed to leave the object there." Johan replied.

"Why the fuck would I want to do that?"

"It'll keep you from bleeding out. You never know what veins or vessels it may have sliced through. Could be the only thing keeping you alive."

Kitsune's angry; pain stricken face changed quickly to that of fear.

"Then how the hell are we going to get it out at all?" He shouted half angrily, half frightened.

"You'll need medical attention."

"There aren't any hospitals in Haven, dumbass!"

"Just shut-up, dammit!" Johan shouted, "I need you to stand up. We need to get out of here."

As Johan finished his statement, the tank fired again, blowing open a large steam pipe. Steam quickly filled the room, adding to the heat of the fire surrounding them. Johan grabbed Kitsune by the good arm and pulled him to his feet. He began to run, Kitsune stumbling to keep up with him. He ran back toward the elevator and pressed the up arrow at least ten times. It was taking it forever to arrive, but he could hear it moving, at least he hoped. The sound in the area was absolutely deafening, roaring fire, explosion upon explosion, random fire from a cannon and whistling steam. It was driving him insane.

Finally the door of the elevator opened and he dragged Kitsune in with him. As he turned to face the door once more to press the button, he saw something most unnerving. A faint orange light flying down the hallway, within seconds he could see the flames flying up and curling about as a massive blast was making its way toward them. Johan did something he hadn't done in a very long time. He panicked. He began stabbing the close door button repeatedly with his forefinger.

"C'mon, close…" He muttered. The flames grew closer; he was sweating from the heat.

"Close dammit!" He was louder now; the fire was nearly at the elevator entrance.

"CLOSE! FUCK!" He screamed.

With that, the door closed and the elevator shot upward almost faster than before as it seemed but Johan knew they weren't out of the smoke yet. He could hear the fire roaring up the column below them that the elevator compartment was shaking, so was Kitsune. Both men were sweating in fear and anticipation. The Elevator came to a quick halt, nearly knocking Johan off of his feet. He grabbed at Kitsune once more, pulling him up to his feet as he had collapsed. He could still hear the roar of the fire below them. As fast as dragging Kitsune would let him, he bolted from the elevator down the long hallway, the orange glow catching up to them quickly.

They reached the entrance doors only to be confronted with one more problem; the opening in the door could fit only one of them at a time.

"We have to get you out of here first." Johan shouted to Kitsune.

"Why the fuck…"

"There's no god damned time to argue damn it! Now get your ass moving."

Kitsune turned to the side and began to push himself through the small opening in the door when he realized something. Due to the metal in his shoulder, he couldn't quite fit. I fact, he now found himself stuck.

"Hurry up, Hybrid." Johan urged.

"I can't fit, I'm stuck."

"What?!" Johan nearly screeched.

It was too late. The explosion had already caught up to them. Johan's eyes widened, he ran over to the door and pulled back his right fist ready to throw forward the punch of a madman. There was a quick flash of blue, engulfed in orange and yellow. The door burst open and shattered as flame flew out of the new opening in the building. Citizens scattered, debris flew everywhere and a massive column of smoke billowed furiously into the atmosphere above.

A/N- *Finally, Jeeze, it took me forever to get around to updating this, =D  
But hey, it's a nice long chapter at least. I apologize if it seems slightly rushed. I just really wanted to get it over with and have the damn thing done ^^  
Now, because it's a partial cliffhanger, I need to get to work right away on the next chapter. Reviews are love. Review dammit!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Can you Handle it?

Johan shot up awake, inhaling sharply and sweating profusely. His eyes darted about in a feeble attempt to take in his surroundings. The panic finally subsided when he came to the realization of where he currently was. He sighed in a nearly strangled relief and placed a sweaty palm on his forehead; he was in the Underground HQ sitting up in one of the cots now.

"Glad to see you're awake. We thought you might never open your eyes." A light and bubbly voice sounded from his right side. He glanced over, Tess was standing there with a gentle smile on her lips holding a cup of water.  
"Here, this should help a little bit. It's not much, but it's clean."  
"Thank-you." Johan reached out and took the cup from her hands. It felt lovely as it traveled down his parched throat. He finished and sighed once more, staring off in thought.  
"Where is Kitsune?" He asked after a long pause.  
"He's on the far cot. His wound was fairly bad, but he is healing remarkably fast. We deduced that it has to do with his Metal-Head DNA."  
"Where's Torn then?"  
"Out speaking with the Shadow at an undisclosed location. I think he muttered something about getting a new command box for the door as well."  
"Ah, I see..."

Johan looked over in the direction of Kitsune's cot and took note of the gentle rise and fall of the red-headed man's chest. He held a slightly pained look on his face and Johan wondered if it was from the pain of his healing wound or if he was dreaming of his past. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard but the familiar hydraulic hiss of the stone door was nowhere to be noted; only a quick grunt and then stone rolling over stone as Torn angrilly pushed it aside. Johan chuckled lightly.

"Oh, so he's awake is he?" Torn mused, though still maintaining his unhappy demeaner.  
"Just woke up now." Tess confirmed as she lifted herself from her sitting position next to Johan.  
"You scared us, gone for as long as you were. When the city alert was issued, we went looking for you. You're lucky we got to you before the guards did."  
"I do suppose that was a little sloppy of me." Johan grinned nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.  
"A little..."  
"Shut-Up."

Johan stretched his arms up above his head, careful not to hit his hands on the cot above him. Torn threw a shirt at him and he slipped it on quickly. Carefully, he slid himself out from under the thin blankets and stood.

"How much longer until my friend there is ready and rearing to go?"  
"We're not entirely sure. We've never really worked with someone like him. He could be up in the next few minutes or the next few days." Tess stated as she removed half of the the blankets covering him to redress the wound.  
"Hmm." Johan began.  
"In the meantime I have something for you to take care of." Torn began.  
"I never get a break do I? I just woke up, who or what do I have to blow up now?"  
"Nothing, it's an informant mission. You just have to go and get the info and bring it back here. We're going easy on you for the next few days." Torn grinned.  
"What, think I can't take it?"  
"No, it's just all that we have right now. Information is just as important as the blow itself." Torn layed out a new map on the desk, "Do you know where the power station is?"  
"I think most of the population knows where that thing is."  
"Vin says he has something for us, and if I know Vin, it's probably important. Who knows, maybe he'll get you to blow up some stuff instead."  
"Lovely." Johan muttered.  
"You can leave whenever you want. Just lay low, the guard are still on high alert after your 'eco elimination' explosion scenerio.

Johan just raised his eyebrow and shook his head. He cracked his knuckles and turned toward the door. He then took note of the severely damaged command box next to said door and cocked his head to the side.

"How did that end up broken anyway?" He enquired. A very low growl from behind answered his question. He then just started walking, fearful that if he were to look back, his face might be melted off.

XxX

He made his way as quietly and discreetly as he could into the industrial sector of the city. It was a darker day today, it appeared that it might storm soon, he could nearly smell the precipitation in the air. A gentle breeze lifted his green coat lightly as he trudged onward. The lighting in this sector was unnerving, red in colour fading on and off over and over. It was amazing that anyone was able to remain even somewhat calm, but, somehow,  
the citizens were very good at doing just that. Desensitized by fear and a constant bombardment of commands and labor, they simply walked onward, no real emotions, no enthusiasm, just easily read wax-moon faces all walking onward to whatever meaningless destination they had in mind. Johan caught himself in his thoughts; this wasn't really like him at all. He preferred to remain happy, to not remind himself of what this place has become. He felt a migraine moving in on him and placed a thumb in the space between his nose and forehead in hopes of relieving it quickly.

"Why does it always end up this way?" He asked himself aloud, knitting his eyebrows together in thought,  
"And now I'm talking to myself again. I wish Kitsune was up already, then I could annoy him instead."

He quickly made his way to the power station, if only to find other intelligent life to remove these ponderings from his head. He hated to think sometimes, he truly did. The doors to the station slid open quickly with an electronic 'whooshing' sound, rather different than the hydraulics he was used to. What he found inside,  
however, was very much so unexpected. He raised an eyebrow as he watched the insanity unfold before him.

"This is bad, really, really bad!" Vin shouted in a panic, floating about from system to system on his platform lift.  
"Calm down Vin!" A female voice shouted, "I'm telling you, it's the third flux capacitor! An easy fix!"  
"No, no, no, It couldn't possibly be the capacitor, I just fixed that."  
"I know." The girl stated with a light sarcasm in her voice.

Johan had never seen nor heard of this girl before, and she most certainly did not look like she belonged at the power station. This job was rather proper and tedious- she looked to be none of those things. Her head was half shaved bald exposing 'circuitry' tattoos, the other half a bright turquoise in colour and her face adorned in dark make-up. He rasied an eyebrow.

"What's the problem here?" Johan finally interrupted, tired of being ignored.

Both Vin and the girl looked at him suddenly. Vin dropped the platform lift, a little too quickly Johan gathered as it threw him off his feet. He climbed over the edge, peeking his goggle clad face over the metal siding and looked at Johan incredulously.

"We're getting power surges in the port district of the city, each at approximately three minutes apart. It's been going on for about Thirty minutes now." Vin explained in his panicked voice, "But, who are you?"  
"I'm Johan, Torn-" He was cut off.  
"Oh yes, Torn just finished sending me the transmission warning me you would be here."  
"Yeah. Is there anything I can do to help?"  
"Nope." The Girl cut in, "Even if you're right, he still isn't going to listen to you, so don't bother."

Vin gave her what could be described as a glare, a half-assed one, but a glare no less. She just shrugged her shoulders and walked over to a console on the far end of the circular room.

"I was told you have some information for me." Johan continued.  
"Y-yes, but I'm very busy right now. If we don't get this problem stabalized then the entire port will-"  
"Capacitor three accessed." A feminine computer voice interrupted them, Vin looked over to his 'assisstant'.  
"What are you doing!" He nearly screeched.  
"Fixing our problem, Mister Freak-out." She finished.

Johan watched as her fingers danced across the console in a nonchalant manner. He deduced that her image had nothing at all to do with her skill level. She opened a window on the screen that was filled with many blinking warning lights. It zoomed in quickly to reveal a red blinking error in a large system of coils.

"What is that?" Johan asked, rather interested.  
"These are the capacitors, there are five of them, they keep the energy flow synchonized at a proper operational level so as to not, one, explode and cause immeasurable electric damage throughout the city and two, ensure that the city doesn't sink into its surrounding environment" She explained. Vin continued to walk about the station, yelling and complaining.  
"It appears the main cooling unit has been damaged. But how? There haven't been any explosions,  
or any recent intrusions that we've detected. I'm starting the back-up unit now." She punched in a new code that Johan couldn't decipher and the red flashing subsided.  
"Capacitor three stablized. Two hours to back-up coolant depletion ." The computer announced.  
"Wow..." Johan began.  
"We're not out of the thick yet, we have two hours to repair the main cooling unit before the capacitor goes out of sorts again." The girl stood up, Vin stopped panicking and looked at her incredulously, almost as if waiting for her to say something.  
"I told you it was the third flux capacitor." She stated, Vin sighed.  
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."  
"Aren't you always?" The girl grinned and walked over to another console.

"Who is she?" Johan asked after the girl walked away.  
"That is Annu." Vin replied, "She was sent here to train under me, and to assist me in the new additions to the power station. Which is part of the information I'm supposed to have you bring to Torn."  
"Oh?"  
"Here. This document is something I was able to swipe while hacking the mainframe the other day. With the new expansions on the drill platform and to the station here itself, I knew something was up."  
"Maybe the city just needs more power."  
"Yeah, but for what? There haven't been any new additions to the city itself in more than ten years, in fact, Praxis made it illegal for any new expansions to be made. No extra factories, no extra stores, nothing."  
Vin emphasized this by swiping his hands through the air, "This means that this extra energy is being wired somewhere else."  
"Do you know where?"  
"I Do. We know the City is running short on eco, Praxis can't continue to rule if no one has any power.  
We all know now, Thanks to Jak, that praxis made a deal with the metal heads to have them attack the city just enoughto keep everyone in some sort of suspense and fear, just so they continue to look up to him. Well, they've decided that they want more and more eco and are threatening to attack the city if they don't get it."  
"Get on with it Vin, what's going on?" Johan nearly shouted, made impatient by the scientists babbling.  
Annu turned her attention from the console to the two men and stood up, with a grim look on her face.  
"Praxis is building a bomb." She stated, Johan's face softened, he knew that this was not good.  
"How do we get rid of it?" Johan asked, nearly urgent.  
"We're not sure. The Documents didn't disclose the location, nor the time at which the building process will commence. All we have are blueprints for it's creation and it's not pretty." Annu finished.  
"We've analyzed the structure and the calculations. It will need to be powered by an incredibly powerful blue eco charge that will set off the dark eco columns inside. Once this happens, it will devastate anything nearby." Vin continued.  
"Where are they getting this charge?"  
"We don't know. We started by thinking that it would be done via dark-eco conversion but even then, the power necessary for the conversion would outweigh the blue charge itself." Annu continued.  
"The really big news is that if this thing succeeds, the explosion won't just take out the nest...  
the blast will take out half of the city itself."

Johan turned and paced in the opposite direction, taking in all of this technical 'mumbo-jumbo' as he called it. His face harbored a dark emotion as he continued to ponder.

"It's construction hasn't begun yet?"  
"No, we don't think so. The add-ons are not yet complete. They don't have the necessary power for that kind of mechanical operation." Vin finished.  
"We need to get this to Torn as soon as possible."Johan added.  
"First, I do have one request." Annu piped up. Johan turned to face her.  
"It would be highly appreciated if I had some muscle come with me to do maintenance on Capacitor three's cooling unit. I don't know what caused the damage and I don't know if it's still there or not."  
"So, you want me to come with you?" Johan raised an eyebrow.  
"Well, Vin would be useless, especially if there are any metal heads out there, you get me?" She joked.

Johan gave Vin a quick glance, he was shaking at the mere thought of metal heads in the area. He gave a quick nod and walked on over to stand face to face with Annu.

"Just tell me what I need to do."  
"Sweet, I'll go get my equipment." And with that, bolted over and flew off on the Platform lift. She returned from the lower floor with a tool-box and a large firearm. She handed it to Johan.  
"Here, I designed this myself. It's a 'just incase'." She winked.  
"Trust me I really don't need-"  
"I'm just going to set the coordinates on the warp gate and we can get started okay?"

As she walked away to continue her work, Johan examined the large weapon. It was just a few inches longer than the length of his arm, shiney chrome in colour with two pincer like extentions on the nozzle. On the underside he could read, written in a fancy handwriting, which was most likely Annu's 'Warning, high volatage.'  
He grinned and knew right then and there that he really liked this girl.

XxX

Johan hopped on through the warp-gate first with weapon at the ready, he scanned the area carefully,  
listening closely for anything that may be out of place. He heard nothing but the whirring of machinery and the distant crunch of stone from a far off drill. He lifted the short distance communicator Annu had strapped to his wrist just before he jumped on through, to his mouth.

"All clear." He stated.  
"Good." Annu's voice replied from out the communicator, she then hopped on through.  
"Ah, the smell of eco in the evening." She breathed, "Let's get to work then."  
"Lead the way."  
"Most certainly, good sir." Annu grinned.

Annu took her time, walking carefully over the rough terrain and keeping her eyes open for any movement,  
as did Johan. The silence was unnerving, so Johan decided to strike up some conversation.

"So, what is this weapon anyway?" He asked as he shook it slightly.  
"It's a high-voltage energy pulse weapon." Annu replied proudly.  
"English please and thank-you."  
"When you press and hold the trigger, an electrical charge builds up. Once the trigger is released, it let's fly the charge that will take out two to three targets at a time."  
"Very nice. What inspired this design?"  
"Watching blue eco in a xenon container as it fired between two sources."  
"Ah..." Johan raised an eyebrow. He was never very good with these things.

There was a sudden noise that stopped the two, a sound that could only be best described as something scratching around in the dirt. Johan looked around cautiously, listening intently to their surroundings. a few moments went by and the pair heard nothing else. Annu shrugged and released the breath she'd been holding, Johan looked in her direction, the seriousness in his face unfaltering.

"It was probably just a rat or something." She proposed.  
"It sounded a little too large to be a rat, don't you think?" Johan questioned.  
"All sounds are amplified out here, what with the open space and the unused machinery, everything just echoes. I'm sure we're fine."  
"You can go ahead and be sure of that then. How much farther are we from the capacitors?"  
"An approximated five minute walk in that direction." Annu explained pointing up ahead of them. Johan squinted his eyes and could make out the tall, coil shaped mechanisms surrounded by transparasteel domes.  
"Alright then, let's get this done and get out of here."

Johan was a fairly fearless individual. He'd lived much of his life on the run, he learned how to have a lot of fun with the guard and maneuver his way through the city with much ease. He, however, had never come face to face with a Metalhead... and to be honest, he was fairly uneasy about potentially having to do that, and in a strange area no less.

"Right oh, then... Ahh, I see the problem." Annu exclaimed as she droped her tool box down on the sandy ground. She then quickly ran to the third capacitor down the row. Johan stood watch.  
"This is incredibly strange."  
"What is it?" Johan asked facing away from her on the look-out.  
"Come here, I'll show you."

Johan took in one final scan of the surroundings before leaving his self set post to observe Annu's findings. What he was looking at unnerved him quite a bit.

"The Steel around the base is completely lacerated, like it was no more than soft cloth or tissue paper."  
Annu stated, rather intrigued, "It just happened to slice right through the piping connecting the main cooling chambers to the capacitor itself. What could have possibly done this?"  
"I Don't know, but you should definitely hurry and get it repaired." Johan replied, standing up from his sqatting position.  
"Alright then, can you quickly grab my tool box for me?"  
"Why didn't you just bring it over in the first place?"  
"I was excited, and that thing is heavy."

Johan rolled his eyes and walked away toward the red tool box about ten feet in front of him. Women, never thinking ahead. He bent down to lift the metal box from the ground, as he did so, he heard the scratching, scuttling sound again. His ears pricked up, listening. Then he made the connection, the hissing sound, the scuttling; He quickly whipped his head around just in time to see it, a metal-head stinger scuttling its way toward him. He jumped back just in time to avoid the creature slinging its stinger at him. He recovered quickly, taking aim and firing the hand made weapon at the creature. It erupted into a seizuring frenzy as the electricity slammed into it, running its course through the thing's metallic body.

"Annu, we better get out of here!" Johan shouted. Annu looked up at Johan's sudden call and gasped in horror at the sight before her. A Hoarde of Metal-head stingers were swarming around him.  
"Good Goddess..." Was all that she could say.  
"Annu!" Johan nearly screeched, firing another shot at the stingers.  
"W-we can't leave, Johan! We have to fix this capcitor otherwise it'll give out in less than an hour now!"  
"We don't have a choice!"  
"Hold them off as best you can, throw the Tool-Box. Please, it has to be done!"

A few of the metal-heads heard Annu's instruction calling and began to head for her. Johan picked up the tool-box and flung it, full force and quickly followed up with a shot at the straying enemies. Annu quickly nabbed it, she flung it open and pulled out a portable plasma welder. She began by welding the pipe back together, another stinger found its way to her, she quickly turned the welder's flame in its direction, successfully roasting it to death.

"How're you doing, Johan?" She called from her work.  
"Just fine!" Johan shouted back, firing from the weapon at regular intervals.  
"I'm almost done, just hold out for me just a few more minutes." She switched her work to closing the steel base of the capacitor.  
"Finished, now, I just have to switch back the main unit." She mumbled to herself.

The metal-head stinger population dwindled now in comparison to before. Johan breathed heavily, firing again at the last bits of the creatures that still swarmed him. He was afraid, these creatures, they were far worse than the guard, than anything he'd ever witnessed in all of his time on the run. Unnatural, grotesque and frightening as well as dangerous. He watched them swarm, watched them attack sporadically as if it was all they knew how to do, all of them dying, however, no matter how many of them died, they would never retreat. They held no fear of him or of any man who should dare set foot in their territory- or what they considered thiers. What appeared to be the last of them, finally lie twitching on the ground as the electrical discharge from the weapon played on what was left of their nerves. He watched it intently, analyzing its twitching motion and asking himself, if this is what they spliced Kitsune with, what might he become?

"I'm finished!" Annu called out to him, holding her tool-box triumphantly in one hand andwaving with the other. Johan breathed a sigh of relief, all was well now, everything was going to be okay. He lowered his weapon and began walking to meet Annu by the now, repaired capacitor, however, in his relief, something happened that he certainly did not expect.

From seemingly out of nowhere, entering his periferal vision in a split second, a large metal-head grunt came galloping toward them. It must have been disturbed by the commotion from a moment ago, however, why it was violently bounding toward them was unimportant, the fact that it was indeed doing so, however, was of dire notice.  
It veered its course and went crashing toward Annu. Johan, shocked but still able to function, raised the weapon once again and pulled the trigger. No charge. He tried again, nothing.

"Run!" He shouted.

Annu glanced to the side, seeing the grunt flying toward her she dropped her tool-box and took off as quickly as she could in the opposite direction. Johan shook the weapon, pulling the trigger over and over, nothing coming of it.

"Fire the weapon!" He heard Annu call, incredibly panicked.  
"It's Jammed!" He replied.  
"What!" She screeched.  
"Shit!" Johan shouted in exhasperation before throwing the weapon to the ground, he looked up just in time to hear Annu shout as she tripped over a mess of exposed console wires, the grunt only a foot or two away now.

Johan took off at top speed, blue streak behind him, all fear of the metal-heads vanquished as he then tackled the creature. It lost its ground, but managed to fling Johan a good five feet into the metal base of yet another power device. He had the grunts full attention now, he watched in his periferal as Annu worked to untangle her leg from the many exposed wires running across the ground. The grunt stood up as straight as its structure would allowon its haunches, staring down Johan as he picked himself up from the ground.

"Come and get it, you big ugly mother-" Johan began before being tackled himself by the creature.

It hissed and growled, the sounds it created nearly worse than the sound of metal scratching metal. Johan cringed as he attempted to wrestle the beast, and it's powerful jaws, away from him. Just when it seemed that he was about to lose, the metal-head was clunked on the head by something rather heavy. A large wrench fell to the ground next to Johan's head, stirring up some dust and dazing the grunt just enough for Johan to roll it off of himself. He glanced around quickly, Annu managed to untangle herself and make it back to the tool-box. He stood up but only just in time to be attacked by the grunt again. This time, Johan jumped back, but not quite enough as the creature's sharp claws nicked him, slicing through the front of his shirt and lacerating the skin beneath. He gasped at the sudden surge of stinging pain. He had no time to recover, for he had to dodge again. The thing just wouldn't stop.

Annu scowled as she watched the sight unfold before her. Johan was injured, she had to do something, he needed a chance to recollect himself, he needed a weapon, he needed something, anything. In her panic to attempt to help her new comrade she grabbed an old piece of scrap metal lying on the ground and another wrench from the tool-box. She brought them above her head.

"Hey you! Big and stupid!" She shouted, "I got something over here for you!" She then began to bang the two pieces of metal above her head. The Metal-head looked up and in her direction. It dropped down into a gallop, leaving Johan alone and flying toward the source of the noise.

Johan quickly turned around only just in time to see the creature take off toward the girl. What was he to do now? As if sensing the stress in his system, the artifact on his right arm began to glow and burn. He grimaced. He feared this thing,this metal-head, he could not deny that, but why did he attack it then? The artifact burned hotter as if attempting to get his attention.

"No..." He muttered as he looked down at his arm.

The arifact burned hotter still.

"Not now..." He shivered as the heat intensified.

Visions of the mass guard slaughter littered his mind, the last time he was as stressed, the death of the child. He reached up and grabbed either side of his head. He didn't want to lose control again, not in this situation, however, it seemed he was not going to have much of a choice. The burning became unbareable and Johan collapsed to the ground, groaning as if to let something substitute for what would normally be screaming. He clenched his eyes shut, forcing himself to focus on something else, something other than the fear, something other than the stress, something beyond what was taking place now. Nothing sufficed, finally, losing the battle with his own psyche, he stood. Johan was no longer there but the creature that was; its eyes burned with a great intensity.

"The creature must die..."

"Oh crap..." Annu muttered as she dodged its attempt to pounce on her. It turned itself around again and attacked, backing her into the steel wall where the capacitors were arranged. It raised its claws again, ready to bring them down on top of her head and she closed her eyes and screamed. After a few moments, she came to realise that Nothing came, not a scratch, not a growl,no pain. She gathered enough bravery to open her eyes slowly to take in the rather terrifying sight before her.

Annu didn't know if she was more terrified by the metal-head itself or the fact that Johan's eyes were glowing with an intense, electric blue as he cleched his own hands around the creatures claws. She was lost in thought, she couldn't believe what she was seeing before her. Johan threw the creature backward, it rolled to a painful hault against some equipment. Johan stalked toward it, face expressionless and eyes still burning, the markings on his right arm burning so brightly they were visible through the sleeve of his trenchcoat.

The creature shook its head as if to knock what little sense that it claimed back into itself before it propelled itself foreward toward the dangerous man before it. Johan dodged its attacks, toying with it almost as he literally danced around its advances. The creature let itself fall back onto all four legs, glaring at Johan with its glowing yellow eyes for only a moment, before taking off again toward Annu, the easier prey. Johan bolted out, stopping himself perfectly before it as it began to bring it's massive claws down for a brutal once again, squeezed her eyes shut and once again, nothing came. Instead fhe claws of the creature's right frontal limb sank into Johan's left arm and shoulder, becoming lodged there, anchored. Johan didn't flinch, terrifying Annu further as the blood began to run profusely down his side, puddling slowly on the filthy ground. He pulled back his right arm, the grunt began to struggle to dislodge itself, tearing deeper and deeper into the already damaged tissue. You could swear by it's act of panicking that it almost knew what was to come next.

With a brilliant, blue flash and the intense hum of electricity in the air, Johan let fly his right fist. It smashed into the metal plate of the grunt's chest, effectively shattering it. The creature let out a blood curdling screech as the shattering pain worked its way through its system. The force of the blow, tearing the creature from its anchored state and sending it flying across the ground where it finally lie, still and silent, nothing but steam rising from its shattered chest and blood dripping from its claws. Johan dropped his right hand to his side where it smoked from the immense power released just a moment ago. His eyes began to dim as his breathing became more labored and erratic.

Annu was nearly hyperventilating from the incredible events that just dramatically concluded before her. She was ready to collapse to the ground shaking from the adrenaline, but Johan beat her to it, hitting the ground unconcious. She released a strangled yelp due to the sound of him hitting the dirt. She took in his form with a small amount of fear before realizing that he was injured, badly. His lacerated chest rose and fell but very quickly and unevenly. She dropped to the ground and placed shaking hands on either side of his face.

"H-hold on... I'll get you back to the power station, okay... j-just hold on for me." She nearly sobbed both from shock and from fear of her new comrade losing his life.

She quickly hammered on her communicator, shouting a string of curses in the hopes that Vin would reply to the urgency in her voice.

"W-what, what's going on?" Vin's paranoid voice finally filtered through.  
"Man down, Vin!" Annu shouted evidently panicked.  
"What? You're kidding."  
"I am absolutely not kidding! There's a metal-head infestation here, we need to get people on that right away. Start the warp gate for me. I'll have to drag him, have some supplies at the ready."  
"I'm on it!"

Annu switched off her communicator and turned her attention back to Johan's injured form. She placed her right hand back on the side of his face, He was still warm which was a good sign considering the wounds- it was a wonder he wasn't going into shock. She choked on sobs that were attempting to tear their way from her throat, she refused to let them surface. Guilt shook her and she just couldn't bear to look at the condition of her new comrade's body anymore, because that was just it, he was a new comrade. He bareley knows a thing about her and yet,  
here he was, bleeding on the ground after saving her life.

"J-just hold on for me, okay... just a litle bit longer." She managed to choke out, "Don't you dare die on me..."

XxX

Johan awoke to a searing pain in his left side, his left arm and shoulder to be fully specific. He winced as a sudden surge of it was sent through his body. His eyes shot open and he looked to his left only to come face to face with a rather serious and upset Annu, cleaning, stitching and dressing his incredible wounds. She stopped and looked at him, a small amount of fear etched into her facial features, this worried him.

"He's awake." She stated aloud.  
"Oh good, is he coherent?" Vin's voice cut in abruptly.  
"I'm not sure."

She continued to clean and dress his wounds, moving to the minor lacerations on his chest now.

"Boy, I'm glad that green eco kit wasn't expired." Vin chuckled in his usual, shakey manner.  
"Yeah..." Annu replied almost solemnly.

What was wrong with her. Where did the back-talking smart ass he'd met earlier today go? He raised an eyebrow as he analyzed her face silently. Vin came into vision, inspecting the more serious wound in his arm and shoulder. He cocked his head to the side whilst Annu simply watched him.

"It appears that he is taking well to the green eco, the healing process is already taking effect." Vin stated, "We should get him up in a short time and take him back to the underground to rest."  
"Why can't I just stay here?" Johan cut in.  
"You're a known member of the resistance. If we were spot checked here at the station, we'd have our heads taken off right then and there. Not to mention, they'd kill you too. It's safer for all of us." Vin replied, "Annu will escourt you to the HQ in a few more minutes. Can you sit up?"  
"I should be able to."  
"Good, Annu, the hammer head's just outside. Take that zoomer and return him to Torn when you're ready."

Annu simply nodded, Vin went on back to his work. Johan sat up from the floor coming to the realization that his shirt was missing. He looked back toward Annu.

"Where's my shirt?" He asked.  
"I threw it out." She replied nonchalantly.  
"What? Why?" He asked.  
"It was heavily damaged and soaked in blood."

Johan simply stared at her completely dumbfounded. He looked down by his right, at least she spared his coat. He began an attempt to lift himself to his feet, but stumbled, nearly falling flat to the floor but was stopped by something. Annu had caught him as he began to drop. He looked at her face again, still seeing that fear,  
but this time a little less seriousness, more worry. He squinted for a moment, as if attempting to read what she was thinking through her eyes before she looked away, helping to lift him up straight on his feet. Once steady, she placed his coat on him as properly as she could.

"Lets take you back." She said almost so quietly, Johan could barely hear.

Travel by zoomer, Johan discovered, was much faster and much easier than travelling by foot in Haven City.  
Annu pulled the hammer-head to an abrupt hault outside of the sliding doors of the Underground HQ. Johan gave her a quick look of concern, she did not return his gaze. He was just looking away when she decided to speak, causing him to whip his head back around to look at her again.

"I'm sorry." She simply stated.  
"For what?" Johan raised an eyebrow.  
"I should have said something. I suspected metal-heads, I hinted at it, but I just didn't want to believe it. I dragged you into a danger that could have been avoided."  
"That's not anyone's-"  
"Just shut-up."

Johan silenced himself. He never was very good with women, now that he thought about it, there were a lot of things he just wasn't very good with.

"You could have died..."  
"But I didn't..."  
"That isn't the point. You could have died! Trying to save my worthless hyde!"

Johan was taken aback quickly by her sudden shouting. She was trying her damndest, he could see, to smother a few tears with anything she could. His face softened, he leaned back and he listened.

"Just like them..." She murmered between strangled sobs, "Dying, saving me... I'm sorry."  
"Like who?"

Annu stopped, wide eyed, horrified that she may have released too much information and she looked away.

"You should go back. Torn's expecting you." She changed the subject.  
"Like who?" Johan tried again, a little more assertively.  
"None of your business!" She snapped, once again sending Johan into a stupor, "Just go. I'm sorry...  
just know that I am. Now go..." She was gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were turning white.  
"Look..." Johan began, "I'm not sure what's going on but, if you ever want to talk about it-"  
"Don't count on it." She stated without looking him in the eyes.

Johan looked away and let himself out of the cruiser. The moment he was a somewhat safe distance away,  
Annu lifted the zoomer to the highest hover zone and took off quickly out of the area. Johan simply watched in thought. There was something tugging at his heartstrings there. She was hurt by something, but wasn't everyone he'd run into over the past few days? However, unlike the pain expressed by Kitsune, she wouldn't talk to him, and he was unsure if she ever would. With a final glance at the empty space the zoomer once occupied, he let himself back into the hideout.

The hydraulics released and the stone door moved aside allowing him access to the small room that was HQ.  
Many eyes looked up to greet him; the whole entourage was there. Kitsune was awake now, sipping away at some tea that Tess had probably brewed.

"What happened?" Torn asked looking him up and down.

He was covered in filth and blood, his shirt was missing and his coat held many more tears that was normal,  
Even Jak and Daxter looked up at him, their faces asking more questions than they could speak.

"It's a long story that I'd rather not go into. I'm... just tired." Johan replied.

Everyone, including Kitsune watched as Johan carefully supported himself to a cot before practically throwing himself down upon it and falling asleep dispite the pain of his healing wounds and racing thoughts.

Thinking was always a tedious thing... If it were left up to him, he wouldn't think at all...

XxX

A/N: *Gooooosssshhh, that took me forever! I am sooo sorry to everyone who enjoyed this story enough to keep reading and/or wanting to read it. I Just had no time, I've got my own place now and I'm working a lot and I'm keeping up at school. Whoo... I can promise, however, that I will try harder to write my next chapter at least before this month ends. I will Try.  
I hope this chapter was somewhat enjoyable. I'd like to apologize if Annu seems somewhat sue-ish and or Whiney for that matter, but you won't have to worry about her again, I predict, until about chapter seven or so. This story is going to be heading the way of a tragedy as it progresses- There will be angst... ANGST! OH GOD THE ANGST!  
Anyway, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts. I'm a review whore you know... you must give them to me.  
Thanks to Spikes for reading my brain children. I love your lovely reviews and I'm glad you enjoy it. ^_^ Check back soon for more updatez! XD*


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